Falling Slowly
by iamnotmyselfyousee
Summary: Young Kurt Hummel was constantly teased by two brothers. But one day, a strange boy named Blaine went to his side to help him. This is were their story grows and through the years how their relationship changes. Child!Klaine to teens. M for triggers/lang.
1. Chapter 1

_Gettings, Everyone! Emily here with the first chapter of my first fanfic, **Falling Slowly**._

_Firstly, let me say thank you so much for choosing to read my story. I hope it is to your liking. _

_Enjoy!_

_(I do not own Glee, Kurt or Blaine)_

* * *

><p>"What's with the bowtie?"<p>

_Well here we are again._ Kurt thought to himself.

Nine-year old Kurt Hummel stood looking at his feet, trying to avoid eye contact with the two boys who loomed over him with hands on their hips and a sneer on their faces. The Bubb twins of the same age, Jeremy and James, lived in Kurt's neighborhood and often came to the same playground. Taking a quick glance at the boys, one could not tell them apart; they were taller than Kurt by several inches and had bright blonde hair. The only things separating them were their eyes.

"Leave me alone, James." Kurt said, wringing his hands together nervously.

"_I'm_ James!" said his blue-eyed brother, "_He's_ Jeremy."

"Sorry." Kurt's high voice squeaked.

"You didn't answer my question." Jeremy repeated, taking a step forward as a mischievous look crossed his vivid green eyes. He grabbed Kurt by the collar and pulled him threateningly close. "I said, what's with the bowtie?"

Kurt wriggled free and looked down at his outfit. He liked his outfit; a dark grey vest over a white, button-up, short-sleeved shirt and khaki shorts. He wore brown boots that went up to his mid calf. The light blue bowtie in question was tied neatly around Kurt's neck. He straightened it self-consciously.

"What do you mean? Th-there's nothing wrong with my bowtie. I-I like it."

"Yes there is!" The twins said in unison.

"Ugh, you're so weird!" James scoffed as the twins advanced. "Boys aren't supposed to wear girly stuff like that to a playground. It's not normal. _You're_ not normal."

Kurt's big blue eyes widened as he took a step back. His calves were met with the wooden sides of a sandbox.

Nowhere to go.

"I-I don't want to take it off. I like my bowtie."

Kurt didn't like being called not normal. It made him feel secluded, like he would never have a friend. Sure, he preferred to have a tea party unlike the other boys in the neighborhood who liked to play baseball, but that didn't make him abnormal did it? He closed his eyes tightly, wishing the two blonde boys would go away. But the Bubbs were kind of notorious for being bullies and they happened to like torturing Kurt very much. Kurt looked up at them with pleading eyes, praying that they might spare him today.

"You're nothing but a weak little girl, you're not normal…" James said.

"… You're a freak who will always be alone." Jeremy finished.

"Now, take off the bowtie!" they shouted together.

Suddenly, four hands reached out and pushed Kurt back into the sandbox, the tiny grains flying in every direction as Kurt hit the sand with a _thump!_ He had put his hands out to catch himself only to land on a sharp eyes began to well up from both shock and pain.

_I'm not normal. I'm an outcast. I'm weird. I don't deserve to be happy._ He thought to himself, staring at his now bleeding palm.

"Aw, do you need a Band-Aid?" taunted Jeremy.

"Did we make baby girl cry?" his brother added.

"I think it's time we teach you a lesson, Hummel." They said together.

Kurt could only stare up at them. The Bubbs both raised a fist, ready to beat down on the small boy in front of them.

_Well, here it comes._ He thought. _I don't understand. I'm just different. Does that make me bad? But I will not cry. I will not give in._

Kurt closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable beating soon to follow.

But none came.

"Wha-yaaah!"

Kurt's eyes shot open at the strange sound just in time to see Jeremy get yanked back onto the ground. James, turning to help his brother was then pushed forward into the grass.

An unfamiliar boy stood in front of Kurt. From behind, he looked like every other child that went to the playground. The boy shouted at the twins, "You two bullies better get out of here before it's _you_ who needs the Band-Aids!" The brothers scrambled to their feet, running as fast as they could from the scene. Satisfied, he looked down and brushed off his blue button down shirt, which hung open to reveal a plain white tee, and his grey shorts.

_Th- they ran away._ Kurt thought_. I cannot believe it. But, who is this boy who saved me? I mean, if he was able to scare off the Bubb twins, then maybe he's even meaner…_

Just then, the boy turned to face Kurt. Kurt had never seen someone like him. His expression was comforting but what struck Kurt the most were the boy's eyes. They were breathtaking, like liquid gold, warm and gentle.

"That should keep them away for a while." The boy said gesturing toward the retreating brothers. Kurt only stared, unable to speak. The boy smirked.

He reached out one hand to Kurt who flinched, expecting to be hit. But there was no violence; there was no insulting or taunting, just the hand reaching out to him. Then the boy said something Kurt had never heard before.

"Let me help you." he smiled, revealing two missing front teeth, "It's okay, I won't hurt you or anything."

Again, Kurt sat unspeaking. He looked away trying to shake this strange boy who came to his rescue from out of nowhere.

"Okay then…" said the boy as he decided to sit next to Kurt on the edge of the sandbox. Out of habit Kurt warped his arms defensively around his middle. Kurt looked at him from the corner of his eye. The boy looked content just sitting next to him, looking around the playground with a pleasant smile and his arms resting on his knees. Now that he was close enough, Kurt could see two bracelets on both of the boy's wrists; blue on the right, gold on the left. He caught Kurt's eye and grinned.

"I'm Blaine." He said suddenly, extending his hand again.

"You saved me."

Blaine's smile widened as he pushed a curly lock of dark brown hair out of his eyes. "I'm glad I could help!"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an electric blue Band-Aid, offering it to Kurt for his injured hand.

"Thank you." Kurt said, accepting it.

The boy dug into his pocket again and pulled out two lollipops, one red and one purple. "Here, what's your favorite flavor? This will make you feel better."

Kurt smiled, "Cherry."

"This is perfect!" he said, handing Kurt the red lollipop, "My favorite is grape! It's like we were meant to be friends."

Friends. Kurt had never really had a friend before. Other boys found him odd and tended to stay away from him so he developed a very close relationship with his mother and father. But this kid, this Blaine, he seemed truly interested in befriending him.

"So," Kurt started timidly, "Where are you from? I haven't seen you at this playground before."

Blaine's face lit up as if Kurt had said the greatest thing in the world. He tried to tuck an ever-constant curl out of his face with no avail, "I've seen you. I'm from New York City! My daddy said it was time to move out in the country, so here we are!"

"How do you like it so far?" Kurt said with another lick.

"I don't really know yet. I've only been here for a week or so. No one seems to like me so far, they think I'm weird." Kurt could see the boy's smile falter slightly.

"Well, I don't think chasing off those two is going to boost your popularity. They kind of run this playground."

"Yeah, who _were_ those kids? They really seemed to like bothering you."

"That was Jeremy and James Bubb. Twins. They are nine years old, like me. They've been picking on me for as long as I can remember."

Blaine looked at him, puzzled, "But why?"

"They don't like that I'm different." Kurt shrugged. "That I like to wear bowties and drink tea and sing along with Disney movies."

Suddenly, the lollipop wasn't very appetizing. Staring intently at the candy, Kurt spun the stick between his fingers. He had talked himself into a depression. As he spoke it out loud, he did seem a little strange, didn't he? What boy liked to sing and have tea parties? The expression Blaine was giving him wasn't helping either. His thick eyebrows were pulled together over bright honey eyes that bore into the side of Kurt's head, searching for Kurt's. His mouth had lost that sweet smile and replaced it with a hard line. Why had Kurt told Blaine these things? He had just met him. He finally had a chance to make a friend and he had blown it out of the water. Way to go, Kurt.

"I don't understand."

Kurt looked back at Blaine, his expression still fixed.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"I don't understand why that is weird. I mean, just because they don't like something doesn't make it wrong, it just makes it your own. I mean, I love Disney and to sing along with the songs! And tea? Delicious…" Blaine looked down at his hands and blushed a deep pink, "And, well, as far as the bowties go, I wouldn't wear them, but they look really good on you."

Kurt's eyes widened as a flush covered his face and ears. Blaine looked so vulnerable and slightly uncomfortable, but not in a bad way, like he had finally gotten something off his chest that had been weighing him down.

Kurt smiled, "Would you like to come over to my house for cookies? My mommy makes really good chocolate chip."

"Will there be tea?" Blaine asked returning the grin.

"There will be tea." Kurt laughed.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Blaine hopped up from his place on the sandbox and offered to pull Kurt up. This time, Kurt accepted, taking his hand.

Suddenly, Kurt felt a spark traveled between their hands. _What was that?_ Kurt thought. He looked at Blaine who was staring at their hands as well. He had felt it too, an electric charge that pulsed through them at their first touch. Blaine looked into Kurt's eyes, his honey eyes sparkling as his face splitting into yet another heart-warming grin.

Kurt and Blaine walked hand in hand across the playground to Kurt's mother.

Elizabeth Hummel sat on a park bench reading a book. Her wavy, brown hair, which covered her bare shoulders, blew slightly in the breeze. She set her book on the bench and smoothed out her dress as she watched her only son approach.

"Bonjour, mon beau garçon." She greeted, "Et qui est ce?"

"Bonjour, maman! C'est mon ami Blaine, est de New York. Blaine ce n'est-" Kurt turned to see Blaine staring in complete confusion. Kurt laughed. "Oh, sorry Blaine. This is my mom."

"Un ami? Merverilleux!" said his mother. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Blaine."

"The pleasure is all mine, Ma'am."

Mrs. Hummel leaned forward, resting one hand on her knee as the other cupped her cheek in her hand, "What are you boys up to?"

"Mom, I was hoping Blaine could come over and have some of those cookies you baked this morning?" Blaine nudged Kurt in the side, giving him a meaningful look, "Oh right, and some tea to go with them?"

"Well I think that is a marvelous idea, sweetheart. Blaine, have you asked your parents if it is okay to come over?"

"No, but they'll be happy to know that I've made a friend. Do you have a phone I could use?" Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand again, creating yet another electric shock that made the boys gasp slightly.

"You can call them when we get to my house, right Mommy?"

She picked up her book and stood, "Of course, sweetheart. Allons-y!"

Kurt's mother led the way down the block to their house.

"Hey, Kurt?" Blaine started, still holding Kurt's hand.

"Yes?"

"What is that you and your mom keep saying?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep saying words I don't understand…"

"Oh, we're speaking French! My mom used to spend summers in France with Grandpa and Grandma Ballou before they died, right mom?"

"Oui c'est vrai, mon chérie." She said turning slightly to look at the two boys.

Blaine frowned.

"It's okay, you'll get used to it." Blaine brightened at the implication of more time with his new friend.

"Here we are, boys. Home sweet home."

The Hummel residence was a very inviting. It was a two-story blue clapboard house with white shutters and matching trim. The front yard held two beautiful flower gardens on either side of the front steps which led up at small front porch. A detached garage sat at the end of a short driveway.

"This is _your_ house?"

"That's right. Why, what is the matter?" Kurt answered.

"I live down the block from here, just a few houses down."

"Oh," Mrs. Hummel said, unlocking the front door, "You must have bought the O'Connor's old house. The little brick house with the black shutters?"

"Yes, that's the one!"

"Kurt, mon chérie, will you show Blaine the phone? Then you can help me set up your tea party."

"Yes, Mom. Come on, Blaine." Kurt tugged on his hand and led him into the living room. Though small, the room was tastefully furnished with a sofa and loveseat facing a television. The walls were speckled with family photos. Kurt pointed to the phone beside the loveseat for Blaine to use. He nodded, punching the numbers of his new home. Kurt then skipped back into the kitchen to help out his mother with the tea party preparations. She had her back turned to him as she filled the kettle with water for the tea. Kurt, taking advantage of the situation, stole a cookie from the plate on the kitchen counter.

"So, Kurt," Elizabeth started, "how did you meet Blaine?"

"What?" Kurt coughed, choking on his cookie. For the past few years, Kurt had tried his best to keep his mother and father from knowing about his problems with the Bubb twins. They had enough grown-up problems to deal with, why bother them with his problems too? "I, uh, well, he came up to me at the play ground today. He gave me a lollipop, mom!"

"Cherry? That's your favorite."

"Yes!" Kurt squealed, "It's like he knew!"

His mother smiled warmly at him, "He seems very nice, Kurt. I'm glad you've found a friend."

As if on cue, Blaine bounced into the room. The moment he saw Kurt, his already bright grin turned into a dazzling smile. Kurt returned the expression without hesitation. Mrs. Hummel looked at them with a quizzical expression.

"My mommy said that I could stay for a while. She said that she'd come pick me up at nine."

"Excellent, thank you. Come on boys," she said, picking up the kettle and handing two cup and saucer sets to Kurt, "Let's move this outside, that only gives us a few hours. Blaine, would you please carry the cookie platter out for me?"

Delighted that he was included, Blaine nodded enthusiastically and followed the Hummels out to the front yard. There, Kurt and Blaine ran ahead of her and started a pickup game of tag. Mrs. Hummel set up a table for the boys to drink their tea. She picked up the discarded plate of cookies and tea set and placed them in their respective places on the table. Turning to the giggling boys, she smiled approvingly, "Kurt, sweetie?"

Kurt stopped in his tracks, causing Blaine to plow him over. The two went tumbling to the ground. Blaine ended up straddling Kurt, his hands on either side of his hips. Kurt looked up at Blaine, a blush high in his cheeks. Blaine's face was also shocked and flushed.

"Kurt!" Blaine cried, stumbling off of him in a panic. "I'm so sorry!"

"Yes, Mom?" He answered giggling, dusting himself off.

"You party is all set." His mother said.

"Thank you. Come on, Blaine, before the tea gets cold." Blaine took Kurt's hand in his, still as red a tomato. The ever-present electric shock between them pulsed between their cupped hands.

Suddenly, Blaine stopped. "What are those?" he said pointing to the flower gardens on either side of the porch. Both gardens had featured flowers; the left held dozens of yellow roses, the right, blue irises.

"Those are our gardens. My mommy and I garden together. These," Kurt said, gesturing toward the roses, "these are my mom's. They're her favorite. She says what whenever she looks at yellow roses, she can't help but smile." Kurt smiled distantly, "You know, whenever I see a rose, it reminds me of my mommy, because when I see her, I can't help but smile too."

"I like them too." Blaine added, barely a whisper. He pointed to the other garden filled with blue flowers. "What are those?"

"Those are Irises'. They are known for their Ellie-gant beauty. My mommy says that they stand for wisdom, faith, and hope." Kurt shrugged. "I just think they're pretty."

Kurt then released Blaine's hand and carefully picked a golden rose off one of the adjacent bushes. He offered it to Blaine.

"What's this for?" Blaine asked.

"Well, the roses make me happy. They are something I know I can count on to bring me a smile." Kurt looked to the ground, "You make me smile too, Blaine. Plus, they match your eyes."

Blaine flushed, but accepted the rose. He ducked behind Kurt and picked an iris from the flowerbed. "Here." Kurt gave him a confused look. "This flower reminds me of you too. If it really does stand for wisdom, then it works because you are smart. If it stands for faith then that works too, because I have faith in you, Kurt, to over come those bully Bubb brothers from the playground. If it stands for hope, it's good because I hope that we can be friends forever. But most importantly," Blaine blushed deeper, but held his gaze with Kurt's, "If it stands for beauty, then its perfect…"

Kurt stared at him, unable to speak.

"And, you know, it matches your eyes too." Blaine said with a smirk.

Kurt hit him on the shoulder and accepted the iris. "Let's go before the tea gets cold."

They spent the entire afternoon together, drinking tea, eating cookies, and singing their favorite Disney songs. The two boys quickly became friends, enjoying every moment that they had. But as all good things tend to do, the afternoon had to come to an end. The tea party had long since been abandoned, every drop drunk and every crumb consumed. Kurt and Blaine lay down under the rose bushes, looking up at the sky as it changed from blue to pink and from pink to orange. They were mirror images of each other, both lying with their hands behind their heads, knees bent up and one leg crossed on a knee up above them.

"So you didn't plan that?" Kurt asked with a giggle, "I mean, you look like the Fourth of July."

"No!" Blaine cried, "Why would I purposely wear a red, white, and blue Fourth of July outfit in August? It just sort of happened."

"I guess I'm just going to have to teach you how to dress yourself. I've always been pretty good with putting outfits together."

"That sounds like fun-"

The boys sat up quickly to find a thin woman with black hair staring down at them. Her golden eyes lit up when she saw the two boys below the garden. She extended her arms, waiting.  
>"Mom!" Blaine shouted, running up to her, receiving a greeting hug.<p>

Kurt remained beneath the bush, but sat up and crossed his legs.

"What are you doing here so early?" Blaine asked, stepping away from his mother.

"Blaine, dear, it's nine. I told you I would come to get you at nine o' clock."

"Wow, I guess I didn't notice, I was having too much fun." Blaine blinked and looked over at Kurt who he remembered was still sitting by himself. He rushed over to him, grabbing his hand, secretly enjoying that strange, forbidden spark and pulled him up. "Mama, this is my new friend Kurt."

Kurt's stomach flipped at the word 'friend' and he smiled.

"Well hello there, Kurt. It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Mrs… uh…" Kurt trailed off. Kurt looked at Blaine, with sudden embarrassment in his eyes. Blaine was his newest and already closest friend and he didn't even know his last name.

"Anderson, dear." Blaine's mother helped. "So, baby, are you ready to go home?"

"But, Mama I just got here!" Blaine whined. "Can't I stay longer?"

"Blaine, we don't want to over stay our welcome. Where is your mother, Kurt? I need to thank her for watching you two."

"I'm right here." Mrs. Hummel said, coming down the steps. "You must be Blaine's mother." She extended her hand.

"Katherine Anderson." Blaine's mom said.

"My name is Elizabeth Hummel. Thank you for letting your son spend the afternoon with us. It really meant a lot to Kurt."

"Oh no, thank you. I know what a hassle boys can be sometimes. Between Blaine and my husband, it's like I have two kids to watch."

The women laughed, understanding each other completely. Blaine looked at Kurt who had already been staring at him. They smiled a secret smile. Their mothers were getting along just as well as they were.

Just then, a car pulled in the driveway. Though old and clearly loved over the years, the car purred like a kitten. Out stepped a man in an oily blue jumpsuit. One could see that he has well toned arms from working long hard hours. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, trying to relieve himself of the smudge of oil with no prevail.

"Speak of the devil, there's _my_ other child." Elizabeth said.

"Papa!" Kurt squealed, running up to him. Burt Hummel picked up his son and carried him easily over his shoulder. Kurt began to protest, kicking his feet and begging to be let down, laughing all the while.

"How is my boy doing today?" Burt asked over his shoulder.

"Great, Papa! I made a friend today!"

At this, Burt twisted Kurt into a normal hold. "You did? Really? That's wonderful!"

"Allons, Papa!" Kurt prompted, tugging on his hand. "Viens le rencontrer!"

"Kurt, you know I can't understand when you and your mother speak using that mumbo-jumbo."

Kurt ignored him, practically walking diagonally because he was pulling his father's hand so hard. Blaine's eyes read something of sadness as they approached. Kurt only then realized that he had abandoned Blaine the instant that his Father stepped out of the car. That had to have been it, right? Kurt released Burt's hand and reached for Blaine's who accepted it with a new smile. Burt's brow knit at the sight.

"Papa, this is Blaine."

"Good to meet you, Blaine." He extended a large hand for Blaine to shake. Carefully, Blaine took it. "Nice grip you got there, Blaine. That says a lot about a man."

Blaine smiled.

"Burt," his wife called. He looked at his wife who stared at him with blue eyes, those blue, ocean eyes that made him fall in love with her all over again. In contrast to her pale skin and full brown hair, she was nothing less than an angel. His expression softened instantly. Burt had met Elizabeth ten years prior and he knew then that this was the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. They married two years later, a small, simple wedding with family and a few friends, and moved to Lima where Burt started a small car repair shop. After two wonderful years of marriage, their already perfect lives were graced with another gift. Kurt Hummel was born that October.

"Lizzie." He breathed. He reached over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "How are you, my dear?"

"Very well, thank you." She smiled, taking his hand in her's. "Burt, this is Blaine's mother, Katherine Anderson."

As the parents talked, Kurt and Blaine snuck away. They picked up their respective flowers that had been so quickly discarded at the sight of Blaine's mother.

"I don't want you to go." Kurt sighed.

Blaine took his friend's hand once more. That electric pulse resumed. "It's okay, Kurt. Are you going to the playground again tomorrow? We can play then and the next day and the next day and the next day!"

That got Kurt to giggle. Mission accomplished.

"I like you, Blaine."

"I like you too, Kurt."

"Blaine! It's time to go!" Called his mother.

"Can we sing Disney songs again tomorrow?" Blaine asked in a rush.

"Sure! But this time I get to be Jasmine. You'd make a better Aladdin anyway."

"Deal," Blaine walked back to his mother waving over his shoulder to his new friend. And just like that, the Andersons where gone.

Mr. and Mrs. Hummel walked hand in hand over to their only son, ushering him in for dinner.

"Mama, Papa? Can I play with Blaine again tomorrow? Please?"

"I don't see why not." His mother smiled. "Now, come on, dinner should be almost ready."

"Hooray! J'ai faim! Can I help set the table?"

* * *

><p><em>Well, there you have it! What did you think? Is it okay so far?<em>

_As a side note:_

_The part where Kurt says "ellie-gant" is my attempt to make Kurt pronounce the word "elegant" wrong. I mean, come on, he's only nine._

_Also, if any of the French is wrong, I apologize. I don't speak French; Google translator is your friend!_

_And special thanks to Shauna, by beautiful editor.  
><em>


	2. Chapter 2

As the summer passed, Kurt and Blaine only grew closer. Every day they would meet at the playground and play together. By 4:00pm, they would return to Elizabeth's side and they would go to the Hummel's house for afternoon snack and play for the rest of the afternoon until Mrs. Anderson would arrive to bring Blaine home. Every evening ended the same with Blaine begging to stay longer so that he and Kurt would be together. On the weekends, when Mr. Anderson was away on business, Kurt would sometimes go over to Blaine's house.

By the time September came around the two boys were inseparable.

One day near the end of August, Kurt and his mother arrived at the playground as usual. Mrs. Hummel pulled out her book and assumed her position on the bench at the far edge of the playground. She pulled her son over by the collar of his pink striped turtleneck, giving him a kiss and sending him on his way. Kurt skipped across the grass, scanning the groups of kids for one boy in particular. The boy with the dark curly hair that, no matter how hard he tried, could not be tamed. The boy with the contagious smile. The boy with the liquid gold eyes that one could get lost in. The boy named Blaine Anderson.

But Blaine was nowhere to be found.

Kurt searched for Blaine everywhere they usually hung out, including some places they didn't tend to go. But he was not there.

Kurt sat on one of the swings in the far corner, trying to figure out what to do with himself. This was the first time since they had met that Blaine hadn't showed up. What was he to do?

Kurt halfheartedly swung his feet in a feeble attempt to swing.

_Where is he?_ Kurt wondered. _Is he bored with me?_ _Did I scare him away?_

Kurt wasn't sure his heart could sink any lower.

"Hummel."

And then it did.

Kurt twisted in his seat, knowing all too well who had called his name. James and Jeremy Bubb stood side by side looking down on him.

"What are you doing over here, Hummel?" James asked.

"Swinging." Kurt said defensively. The Bubbs hadn't bothered him as much as they used to ever since Blaine threw them to the ground back in June. There were occasions when the brothers would trip one of them, spit at them, or give them dirty looks, but the physical and verbal abuse had lessened considerably.

Where was Blaine?

"Thanks for that, Smarty Pants." Jeremy added. "What we meant was, where is your boyfriend Blake?"

"Blake?" Kurt scoffed, "You mean Blaine?"

"Whatever." The twins said together.

"He's on his way here." Kurt lied. "So you two better go."

The only place the Bubbs went was in front of Kurt, stopping his kicking legs.

"We don't like what you've been doing, Hummel." Jeremy said. "Our older brother, Aaron, says that you and Blare are bad people."

"Blaine," Kurt corrected again.

"Hey!" Jeremy said, taking hold of the chains of the swing and leaning over him, "I don't like the way you've been talking to us, Hummel."

"You've gotten a big head because of that boyfriend of yours." James finished, sliding up next to his brother.

Kurt tried to get away from them effectively falling backwards off the swing with a _thud! _and he felt his confidence shatter. He suddenly realized the situation he was in. On the far end of the playground. Surrounded by two boys who hated him. Without Blaine. Alone. This was not good.

"You know, James," His brother mocked advancing on the small boy before them, "I heard from Aaron that having a big head can be a very bad thing."

"We might have to fix that little problem." James said.

"It would be the good thing to do."

"Yes, it would. But how do we fix a big head, Jeremy?"

"Simple, brother." Jeremy sneered down at Kurt, "We deflate it."

Kurt's heart sank. These boys really did want to hurt him, didn't they? What was he to do? Where was Blaine? Why wasn't Blaine here? Would he ever come? What was he supposed to do now? What would Blaine do?

_Defend yourself. Stand up for yourself._

Kurt couldn't do those things. That would get him killed. No, he couldn't do that.

_Run._

Jeremy and James moved forward, intent on their target. Kurt wasted no time, he scrambled onto his feet at took off. He had no idea where he was going, only that he had to get away. Jeremy and James might have been bigger, but Kurt was faster.

He sprinted toward the playground's massive Jungle Gym to try to escape. He raced up the stairs; sure that he had made his escape. Kurt was sure he had lost the twins, until he turned at the top of the slide and saw them running at him. Their eyes burned, angry at the chase Kurt had put up so far.

"Hummel!"

"Get back here!"

Kurt obviously had no intention of doing so. Not now. He did, however, have a plan. When the twins made their way over to the stairs to chase him, he would simply slide down the slide and get another lead on them. Then he could run into a more populated part of the playground, preferably with parents present. They couldn't do anything then! Then he could look for Blaine and they could play together. It was foolproof!

Foolproof, until Jeremy and James headed up the slid instead of the stairs.

Kurt stared in horror. This was not supposed to happen. He turned on his heel and fled farther onto the Jungle Gym. There was nowhere he could go. He would be caught if he tried to make it down the stairs or back down to the slide.

Nowhere but up.

He spied a decorative over hang high up on the structure. Kurt began to climb. Luckily for Kurt, he was nimble enough to make it to the top before the Bubbs reached him.

Enraged, the twins jumped up and down, trying to reach the poor, frightened boy. Kurt curled in on himself, tucking his knees under his chin. He wanted Blaine. With Blaine around, this wouldn't have happened. Where was he? Blaine said that he would be here forever.

He cautiously looked down below him at the boys.

"Get down here, Hummel!" One of the twins shouted.

"Yeah, you coward, get down here! You need to be put in your place! You and that little faggy boyfriend of yours!" The other spat.

Kurt felt like he had been stabbed in the heart.

_Faggy?_ He thought, his eyes beginning to water. _What does that mean? It sound- it sounds terrible…_

"Jeremy! James?" called an authoritative voice from a group of mothers. "Where are you? It's time to go!"

"Well, get you, Hummel, mark our words. The world isn't meant for faggots like you!"

The two blonde boys turned and left Kurt alone atop the Jungle Gym. Kurt stared as they ran away, his vision becoming increasingly blurry with tears. He wrapped his arms around his knees tightly and buried his head, finally releasing his sobs. He stayed that way until he could hear his mother calling his name. Carefully, Kurt climbed down from his spot, wiping his eyes. He tried to compose himself so that his mother could not see how upset he was.

"Bonjour, mon chéri!" his mother greeted cheerfully. "Where have you been all day? A- and where is Blaine?"

"Oh, yeah, Blaine couldn't come today. I've been, uh, on the swings all day." Kurt sniffed.

"Oh, that is too bad." Elizabeth leaned down to brush the hair out of Kurt's eyes, "Kurt, sweetie, are you alright? You seem sad and your eyes are kind of red and puffy."

Kurt quickly plastered on the best smile he could muster, "Oh no, I miss Blaine is all, Mama. And my eyes are red because I think my allergies are acting up!" She smiled and laughed, "I'll give you some allergy medicine when we get home, okay?"

Kurt let out the breath he wasn't aware he had been holding and thought to himself that he might try to be an actor when he grows up.

On the walk home, Kurt tried his best to act as normal as possible, trying not to let his mother know of the confrontation he had had earlier in the day. As his father was working late, Elizabeth tucked Kurt into bed that night. She kissed her son on the cheek and made to leave the room.

"Mommy?" Kurt squeaked.

"Oui, mon beau garçon?"

"Can I ask you something?" He said, sitting up in his bed.

"Of course, my love."

Kurt sighed and looked at his tiny hands, "Do you know what a- a faggot is?"

Elizabeth's eyebrows shot to her hairline, her eyes wide.

"Where did you hear that word, Kurt?" She asked, trying hard to stay composed.

"Well, some boys called me that today."

"You and Blaine?"

Kurt nodded.

"What is it? Is it a bad word?"

"A- that word, that word is not a nice word, Kurt. It's a mean word that mean people use to put down other people."

"But what does it mean?"

"I, uh, well, it's a bad word to call boys who like boys."

"So if it's a bad word, does that mean that I'm bad?"

"No!" she breathed, scooting closer to her son and taking his hand. "No, sweetheart. Just because a word is bad, doesn't mean the people are bad. Kurt, what you and Blaine share is very special. A friendship like yours, so sweet, so strong, so pure; is hard to come by. A relationship like that is something to be protected. Kurt, sweetie, hold onto it, hold onto your friendship with Blaine because even though there might be people in your lives who tell you that what you have is wrong, it's not. It is the purest kind of relationship and one that should be looked after. Promise me that you won't let anyone tell you otherwise, okay baby?"

Kurt smiled at his mother with heavy eyes. "Yes, mama. I promise."

"There's my boy." She leaned over and kissed his forehead, getting up from her spot on the bed. "Goodnight, Kurt."

"G'night, mommy. I love you."

"I love you too." She choked out, a lump in her throat.

As she shut the door behind her, Elizabeth let out a sob. Kurt was still so young and already people were judging him. There was no way she could know if Kurt would develop feelings for his friend, they were far too young. But she wanted to make sure that if he ever did, he knew that it was not wrong. That he was free to love anyone his heart desired.


	3. Chapter 3

The following week found Kurt sitting, playing alone in the sandbox. He didn't have the heart to look for Blaine, in fear of him not showing up again. What had happened to him on Friday? Why hadn't he come to the playground? And what had made matters worse; Blaine didn't even call over the weekend. Nothing. Kurt felt betrayed. His best friend didn't care about him anymore.

Kurt dug his shovel into the sand, only to dump its contents back into the pile that was slowly growing up to Kurt's knees.

"Cool, its Mount Everest, right?"

Kurt's head snapped around at the familiar voice. Blaine looked down at him with a bright grin on his face. Kurt's first instinct was to jump up and hug his friend, but he kept his composure.

_Remember, you're supposed to be mad at him._ Kurt reminded himself.

Kurt turned away from Blaine and continued to pile on sand to his "Mount Everest".

Blaine, ever the persistent friend, sat down next to Kurt with a smile, trying to make eye contact. Kurt moved away from him, creating a space between them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Blaine asked, a smile still on his face.

Kurt gave him a deadpan look and turned his back again.

"Kurt?"

No answer.

"Kurt?" Blaine touched his shoulder, trying to get his attention. Kurt lurched away. "Kurt, why are you doing this? What's wrong?" Finally getting the hint, Blaine sounded hurt.

"What's wrong?" Kurt snapped. "What's wrong? Really, Blaine? You're going to sit there and ask me what's wrong?"  
>Blaine blinked, slack jawed, "I- I- I don't understand. Yes, I'm asking what's wrong. You're sad and you're my best friend, I'm worried."<p>

"Best friend? Blaine, you don't abandon your best friend!"

"Abandon?" Blaine said, genuinely shocked, "What are you talking about? I didn't abandon you. When would I have done that?"

"Don't play dumb, Blaine. It's not becoming."

"What does that mean?" Blaine asked.

_I don't really know, my mom uses it when she's mad at me._ Kurt thought. Instead, Kurt did not respond and glared.

"Kurt, I don't know what you're talking about but I did not abandon you!"

"Yes you did!" Kurt bellowed, "You said you would always be here, Blaine. You said that we would always be together and you weren't here. You promised, Blaine! You said you were my best friend. And then you weren't here and James and Jeremy came after me again and you weren't here! How could you do that?"

"Kurt," Blaine whispered.

"They chased me," he continued, in a frantic rush, "They knocked me off my swing and they chased me. They said that they didn't like how- how good of friends we are and they were going to put me in my place. I tried to get away, but they were so f- fast. I-I climbed up the Jungle Gym to get away. They started calling me names, Blaine. I- I…" Kurt buried his face in his hands. How embarrassing, he thought. He was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to be mad at Blaine. But here he was, crying in front of him when he was supposed to be mad at him.

"Are you finished?" Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded, not looking up.

"Kurt, I never abandoned you. I could never do that. I had a stomach bug all weekend and my mom wouldn't let me leave the house. I'm so sorry, Kurt. I know that I said I would always be here and I wasn't. But Kurt, there are going to be times when we can't be with each other all time. I wish I could be. But look, if there ever is a time that you miss me, just remember that I'll be with you in your heart and that I'm your best friend. And that you'll always be my best friend. Always."

Blaine pulled Kurt into a soft hug. Kurt's shoulders relaxed into his touch, embracing that strange shock that was always present between them. Kurt finally looked at Blaine, his Blaine, the boy with mysterious the golden eyes.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, "I guess I over reacted. I was just so scared."

"What did they say to you that upset you so much?" Blaine asked, keeping one arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"They called me a- a fag."

Blaine froze.

"You know it?" Kurt said.

"Yeah, I know it. My dad uses that word a lot. I don't like it. For some reason, it makes me sad when I hear it."

"My mother says that it's a word people use to put people down." Kurt turned to Blaine and smiled, "But you know, she said something else. She said that our friendship is special. That we have something that other people wished they had and they'll try to tear us down for it."

"Why would they do that?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know." He blinked.

"But I think she's right. We're best friends, Kurt."

"Better than best friends!" Kurt added.

"Better than best friends. We're best best friends and no one can tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming!"

"Blaine," Kurt said with a deadpan expression, "Did you really just quote Aladdin?"

"Come on, Jasmine," Blaine said, pulling Kurt up, "Let's go look for the Cave of Wonders!"

Several weeks passed and school started for the year. Unfortunately for Kurt and Blaine, the roster was alphabetical; therefore, they were not in the same homeroom or the same classes. Luckily, their lunchtime and recess matched up. They sat together at lunch and played together on the school's playground. As the semester drew on, Blaine made a few friends with some of the boys in his class whereas Kurt talked with a few of the girls. But none of the other kids were ever as close to them as each other.

One day, near the end of September, Blaine and Kurt sat across from each other in the lunchroom.

"…But then Hannah Parker erased it off the board before Mr. Brannon walked in." Kurt explained, taking another bite of his carrot stick. "Honestly, I think it was for the best. Those boys would have gotten in so much trouble if Mr. Brannon had caught them. Blaine? Blaine!"

"Huh?" Blaine said, shaking out of his daze.

"Were you listening at all?" Kurt scoffed.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just, uh, distracted."

"What's the matter, Blaine?"

"Well, I was hoping I could ask you something?" he said shyly.

"Anything."

"Well, you see, my birthday is coming up and I'm turning the big "one-oh" and I was hoping that maybe you would want to come to my birthday party because it would mean a lot if you did. Not that you have to or anything, and you wouldn't have to get me anything, I just thought maybe-"

"Blaine!" Kurt interrupted, "You're babbling. And, yes, I would love to go to your birthday party."

"Really? Honest?"

"Of course, silly! You're my best friend, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Wow! Okay, great! It's this Saturday, two o' clock." Blaine said with an award-winning grin.

When Kurt left school that afternoon, he felt almost sick to his stomach. Birthday party? He had never been invited to one before. And this was Blaine they were talking about, his best friend! Kurt had to make sure he got Blaine the perfect gift. Kurt hopped off the bus, waving to Blaine who still had one more stop to get to his house. He trotted up the steps and through the front door. He dropped his backpack next to the door with a sigh and collapsed, face first, onto the couch.

"Kurt, is that you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, it's me." Kurt mumbled into the pillows.

He heard the sound of approaching footsteps and groaned.

"Kurt, sweetie, are you alright? What is with the theatrics?" Elizabeth asked, sitting across from him on the ottoman.

"Mmhruph."

She chuckled, "Are you talking to me or the pillow? Come on, now."

Kurt turned over on his back, "Nothing." He repeated.

"Kurt,"

"All right, well Blaine's birthday is this Saturday and he invited me to go to his party."

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Hummel said with a clap of her hands, "I fail to see the problem."

"Mom! I've never been to a birthday party! How am I supposed to know what to get him? I don't know what boys like. I only know what I like…"

"And what you like is Blaine, correct?" His mother soothed. Kurt nodded. "Kurt, sweetie, Blaine is your best friend. You two are like two peas in a pod. If anyone knows what Blaine is going to like, it is you."

"But how do I come up with something? Don't boys get their friends toy cars and action figures?"

"Kurt, you know Blaine better than anyone. If you think that's what he would like, we will go get him a toy car, but if you put some thought into it, I think you'll find something even better. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." With that, Elizabeth patted Kurt on the knee and left the room.

Kurt pouted, turning on his side. That wasn't very helpful. 'Think about it' she said. He had been thinking about it, all day! But he couldn't think of anything. He was no good at getting things for boys. Legos? Hot Wheels? Violent video games? What did ordinary boys like?

But that wasn't really the question, was it? It didn't matter what 'normal boys' liked because he wasn't getting a gift for an ordinary boy. He was getting a gift for Blaine, his special Blaine and Blaine was anything but ordinary.

Kurt sat up quickly, a new idea in his mind. "Mama, pour le magasin!"

Saturday came quickly. Kurt stood outside of Blaine's front door next to his father, dressed to the nines. He wore the red bowtie he knew Blaine liked the most and a plain black shirt with white slacks. Burt Hummel knocked on the door and Kurt's grip tightened on the little gift bag in his hands. It was a simple bag; purple with golden tissue paper sticking out of the top.

The door swung open to revile the party was in full swing. Kids and parents alike were scattered throughout the house. Balloons and streamers hung from various places, creating the perfect party atmosphere. Kurt's heart leapt to his throat. He had no idea all these people would be there.

"Hey, Burt, good to see you!" Mrs. Anderson greeted.

"Nice to see you too, Katherine." Burt responded, "Thanks for inviting our Kurt over to this shindig."

"Oh it's no trouble at all! I would have been shocked if he didn't come and Kurt is always welcome. Hello there, Kurt."

"Hi, Mrs. Anderson. I got a gift for Blaine." He said, holding out the present.

"Oh, that was very thoughtful, dear. The present table is over there next to the television. I'm sure Blaine is playing with the other boys somewhere. Come on, Burt I'll introduce you to the other parents."

Kurt fidgeted in from of the door for a moment, not really sure what to do. He decided to try to find the present table Mrs. Anderson had mentioned. He turned the corner into the living room to be met with dozens of presents. The table was stacked sky high with large boxes all for Blaine. Kurt looked down at his small bag with a frown. He knew he should have gone with a Nerf Gun. There was no way that Blaine could ever accept his tiny present with such amazing things to open. Kurt turned away from the table, keeping his bag in hand. Maybe if he held onto it, no one would know it was a present for Blaine.

Blaine.

Where was Blaine? He still had not seen him anywhere. Kurt walked through the crowed house, in search of his friend. It seemed as though everyone from the block was there. Kurt wound his way to the kitchen, thinking maybe Blaine had wanted a drink. No such luck. He looked out the sliding glass doors that lead to the backyard, finding that there were even more people there, parents talking while some of the older kids played badminton, but still no Blaine. With a sigh, Kurt wandered away from the door. Everyone seemed to be having such a good time. He walked past the blasting stereo and decided to head up the stairs, away from the mob of people, maybe he could find a quiet place up there.

As Kurt reached the top of the stairs he heard a voice.

"Ahh! No! Simba, hold on!"

Kurt pushed open the door that lead to Blaine's room, trying to see what was going on.

"Simba, no! I'll save you, don't worry!"

Lying out on his stomach on the bed was Blaine. His back was turned to the door so he did not see Kurt walk into the room quietly, so as to not disturb him. Blaine held his Simba stuffed animal over the side of the bed. Blaine "struggled to reach" the doll, clearly giving his all in saving him. Finally, he caught his paw and pulled Simba onto the bed.

"Oh man, that was close! Simba, next time don't try to reach that far over the edge! Your mother will be so mad when she hears about this."

"Blaine?"

The dark haired boy nearly fell off the bed in surprise.

"Kurt!" Blaine cried, clutching his chest, his face quickly breaking into a heart-stopping smile. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you," Kurt blushed. "But what are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be downstairs with all your friends at the party?"

Blaine scoffed, "Friends. They're not my friends. All those people down there? They're my mom's friends from work and their kids. My dad invited some of the kids from the block, but they are not my friends either."

"Blaine,"

"I mean, they've been watching us get bullied by the Bubb twins all year and none of them have helped us out. No, I don't care about anyone down there. So I came up here to hide until they called me for cake."

"Blaine," Kurt said again, "I'm sorry."

"No, Kurt, don't be sorry. The fact that you're here is good enough for me."

Kurt's face flushed again.

"Hey, what's that?" Blaine said pointing to the purple bag in Kurt's hands.

"Oh- oh it's nothing! I was just going to-"

"Is that a gift? For me?" he asked, bright eyed.

"Well it is _your_ birthday party Blaine." Kurt said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, Kurt, you shouldn't have! I told you that you didn't need to get me anything."

"I know," Kurt said, his cheeks growing more and more red by the second. "But I wanted to! It's really nothing…"

"May I open it?" he asked, taking a step closer. Blaine took Kurt's hands in his, gently opening his hands and taking the bag. Holding the present in one hand and Kurt's hand in the other, Blaine pulls him over to his bed where the pair of them sat.

"Purple, my favorite color." He said with a smile.

Carefully, Blaine pulled the tissue paper out of the bag. First, he pulled out four lollipops, four grape and one cherry, wrapped in a little white bow. Blaine smiled, remembering the day he and Kurt met and how Blaine had offered Kurt a lollipop to comfort him.

"I thought that if you ever feel lonely, you could have one of these. They made _me_ feel better." Kurt said timidly. "And the red one stands for me."

"You remembered." Blaine whispered. He reached into the bag, pulling out a piece of paper and laughed. "It's Aladdin! Aladdin and Jasmine. Did you draw this?"

Kurt nodded, "And see here? I labeled it, too. See? You're Aladdin and I'm Jasmine."

"It's really good, Kurt. I didn't know you could draw."

"Nah, it's not that good really. It didn't take that long" _Over a two day span._ He added silently. "Open the rest."

Blaine dug his hand to the bottom of the bag, coming up with two shiny new bracelets, one blue, one gold.

"Oh, Kurt, these are beautiful."

"I noticed that the bracelets you wear everyday are getting kind of worn out. So I thought you might like them. And I made then myself!"

Blaine looked at Kurt with an expression he could not read. It was like none he had ever seen and it made his stomach do flips. Blaine's golden eyes glistened, like they were trying to absorb all the light in the room. For all Kurt knew, they had, because they were the only things Kurt could see. Blaine's eyes started to water and Kurt panicked.

"Blaine, I'm sorry! I knew it was a bad idea, I should have gotten something else-"

"No, no, Kurt, stop. They're perfect. I love them."

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do. These gifts, they mean more to me than anything that could have come from a toy store. You remembered our lollipops and our favorite movie! And the fact that you made these bracelets yourself makes them that much better. I love them. Here," He said, offering Kurt the blue bracelet.

"Oh no, Blaine, it's yours."

"Right. It's my gift, meaning I can do whatever I want with it and what I want is to give you the blue one. It will complement your eyes and the gold will go with mine."

Kurt smiled, accepting the bracelet and slipping it onto his left wrist. Blaine did the same on his right, throwing away the old bracelets.

"So, you wanna play with Simba?" Blaine asked, admiring his left wrist. "He can be the son who got kidnapped by pirates! And we, his parents, have to go and save him!"

Kurt frowned, "But, if we're his parents, who is going to play the mom?"

"There doesn't have to be a mom to be a family. We can both be the dads! I'll be Papa and you can be Dad, okay? What do you think?"

"I think we'd had better get Simba away from Captain Hook as soon as possible because he has school tomorrow!"

Blaine grinned taking Kurt's hand and jumping into action.


	4. Chapter 4

_Slam!_

"Stupid!"

_Bam!_

"Losers!"

_Whack!_

"Is that your _boyfriend_?"

_Crash! _

"Queers!"

Blaine Anderson stood on his tiptoes trying to reach the top shelf of his locker, one of the many disadvantages of being an eighth grader and still being the size of a ten year old. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a photo hanging on the inside of his locker door. A dazzling smile, auburn-chestnut hair falling slightly into two bright, shining blue eyes. It was a picture he and Kurt had taken on the last day of this past summer. They had decided to go to the beach on a local lake that day. Blaine remembered it like it was yesterday. The sun was shining, warm and inviting. Kurt had applied six pounds of SPF one billion sunscreen to his skin because he burned so easily. Blaine didn't use any and ended up with a perfect-bronzed tan. He helped Kurt rub the lotion on his back, a deep blush high on his cheeks the whole time. After much coaxing, Blaine finally convinced Kurt to join him in the water. They raced across the swimming area and Kurt sulked when he lost. Blaine, trying to make amends, wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, pulling him back to him. That of course turned into splash fight that escalated into a tickle fight, rolling around in the shallow water in a fit of giggles.

Finally grabbing the textbook he was reaching for, Blaine dropped down to his normal size, staring fondly at the photograph, a wide smile plastered on his face at the memory.

Blaine sighed, "I should just stop using that top shel-"

_Bang!_

Blaine fell face first into the wall of lockers, sending the heavy geometry book flying out of his hands. That was another disadvantage of being so small, easily shove-able. He spun around quickly to see Jeremy (or was it James?) Bubb retreating down the hallway.

"Fag!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Blaine winced. He hated that word more than anything and what's more he hated being called it. He collected himself and inspected the damage. Just a cut on his hand from hitting the edge of the locker, nothing too serious. He fished a box of Band-aids out of his locker and stuck it to his bleeding palm. Turning to find his missing textbook, Blaine was met the book in question in a pair of pale hands.

"Kurt!" Blaine said, jumping back in surprise.

"You're hurt." Kurt practically whispered. He took a step forward, placing a soft hand on his cheek. Blaine blushed to his hairline at the tender touch. Gosh, Kurt had always had this effect on him. Just a simple touch of skin sent shivers down his spine. "Come on, you."

Kurt took his hand and led him into the nearest bathroom. Kurt set him in front of the sink and went to the far wall to get some paper towels from the dispenser. Blaine hopped up on the sink and took the chance to look at himself in the mirror. His cheek was quickly turning purple from its collision with the locker. He sighed, yet another bruise he would have to make an excuse for to his parents. Kurt walked back to the row of sinks, wetting the towel, and turned back to Blaine.

"Come here," He instructed. Kurt gingerly placed the towel on Blaine's cheek. Despite Kurt's attempt, the cold paper hurt against his burning skin. From such a short distance, Blaine couldn't help but stare into Kurt's eyes as he worked. They were like nothing Blaine had seen in his short life. They were such an intense aquamarine color that reflected like the ocean itself. One could drown in them. What worried Blaine was that he didn't think he's mind drowning as long as he was able to stare into those eyes forever. Kurt removed the now warm towel in exchange for a new one.

"Where have you been?" Blaine asked suddenly, "I haven't seen you since lunch time."

"Jeremy Bubb locked me inside a locker." He said coldly.

Blaine blinked. "I- I didn't know that could actually happen. I thought that only happened in the movies…?"

"Yeah, well, tell that to the bruise on my back from being slammed into the back of the locker," Kurt snapped, moving away from Blaine. "And explain that to the one on my shoulder from trying to break out of it for the next hour and a half!"

Blaine followed after him but Kurt curled in on himself reflexively, stopping Blaine in his tracks. They stood in silence for what seemed like days to Blaine. This wasn't how this year was supposed to go. They were in eighth grade, the top of the whole middle school. So why were they still the ones who were getting picked on?

The answer nagged at the back of Blaine's mind for the millionth time. Because they were different. Because they were closer friends than anyone could possibly understand. Because people seemed to frown upon the kind of friendship he and Kurt shared, though Blaine couldn't fathom why.

"How- how _did_ you get out?" he asked murmured.

"A janitor came by and heard me pounding on the door." Kurt replied, equally as quiet. Blaine watched him cautiously. He thought he had known Kurt long enough to know what to do when things got bad, but he still didn't. One could never tell what Kurt wanted. Just when you thought he was going to zig, he zagged, throwing you off balance. But that was what Blaine liked the most about him.

"Kurt I-"

All of a sudden, Kurt launched himself at Blaine, burying his face in his shoulder. Blaine carefully wrapped his arms around the thin boy. He rocked them back and forth, whispering nonsense into his hair, trying to calm him.

"It's alright, I'm here. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Blaine, I was so scared." Kurt gasped out between sobs, "It was so dark, so small. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I-I thought I would never get out, Blaine. I was so scared."

"I know, shhh, I know. It's alright now. I've got you. It's alright."

"Why do they do this to us, Blaine? Why us? What did we do wrong?"

"Nothing. We have done nothing wrong, okay? They- they're just jealous that they don't have the kind of relationship that we have. We're special, Kurt. I have a best friend who I can share anything with and so do you and they want it too. But they can't because we're special." He pulled Kurt away from him, holding him at arms length. Blaine's eyes burned with a new light. "But one day, they will. They'll understand that it's okay for us to be friends. That our friendship is something to be embraced, not shunned. And if that time takes one hundred years to get there, I'll take that chance, just as long as I get to be with you."

"Blaine," Kurt hiccupped throwing his arms around him again. Blaine shivered that the action. Just hearing Kurt say his name that way gave him butterflies.

After a while, Kurt's sobs grew softer and he knew he would be okay for now.

"Kurt, I'm so sorry," Blaine started, "I should have been there. I should have come looking for you when I noticed you were missing."

"No," Kurt stopped him, pulling away slightly from the embrace. "It's okay. You couldn't have known-"

"No, it's not okay. Kurt, you are my best friend. I should have been there for you and I wasn't," Blaine released his hold on Kurt and took his hands in his own. "Well never again, okay? You'll always be my best friend. I'll always be here for you, Kurt. Always."

Kurt smiled, remembering their conversation for years before. He leaned his head forward down and rested it against Blaine's as the tears threatened to fall again, "Me too. Forever, Blaine. Forever and always, no matter what."

Blaine pulled away from Kurt with a small smile. He was suddenly reminded of a song from their childhood he had never understood until now. Unable to hold back, Blaine sang softly to Kurt:

_I wish I knew you  
>Way back when<br>Before you were part of my plans  
>I think that we would have been friends<br>_

Kurt smiled, recognizing the song. He joined Blaine in the next verse, taking Blaine's hand once more. 

_There's only time to live our lives  
>And you'll be the one who's by my side<br>And I can promise you then  
>You'll always be my best friend<em>

_Till the end when we part  
>I will give you my heart<br>And I'll promise to love you with all that it is  
>And I'll promise to be there whenever you need me<br>Because you'll always be my best friend_

Blaine smiled widely at Kurt, singing the next line alone.

_You'll always be my best friend _

Kurt returned the grin, trying his hardest to keep the tears a bay.

_You'll always be my best friend_

_You'll always be my best friend_

Blaine pulled Kurt into a tight hug, "I'll never say goodbye to you."

Kurt yelped, "Me neither, not ever. But, Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you loosen the grip? Bruised back, remember?"

Blaine released Kurt like he was on fire, his own face flaming red. "Oh, yeah, geez, I'm sorry!"

Kurt laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Come on, we're going to be late for the bus."

The following weekend Mrs. Hummel took the boys to Laser Tag, one last hurrah before final exams started.

"I cannot believe you've never been to Laser Tag before." Kurt said as they waited for the doors of the arena to open.

"Well, they didn't really have that sort of thing in New York City. And it was always for the older kids, so I never went."

"The object of the game is to shoot the other team and get points, the smaller the spot you shoot, the more points you get. But don't get shot yourself or you won't be able to shoot for ten whole seconds! Also, each team, the red, the green, and the blue, has a home base. Our job is to find the blue and the green team's base and shoot it until it breaks. Okay?"

"I-I think I've got it?"

"It's okay, Blaine," Kurt said, touching his shoulder, "I'll try not to beat you too bad!"

Just then, the buzzer went off and Kurt took off running into the arena.

"Wha- hey! Kurt!"

"Come on!" he shouted over his shoulder, disappearing.

Blaine walked awkwardly into the course, holding his gun tightly against his chest. Suddenly, two bigger kids in blue ran past him. He turned a corner and pressed himself against a wall. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Blaine backed away from the boys and scurried down a small corridor. He ran into something solid, huge, and wearing green. Turning, Blaine squeaked at the much bigger boy towering over him. The monster took aim at Blaine. This was it. He was a goner.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Blaine opened his eyes to see that the boy's vest was flashing. He had been shot!

"Blaine, lets go!" Kurt called, smirking at beast and grabbing Blaine's hand, pulling him into a different alcove.

"Kurt! You saved me!"

Kurt only smiled at him.

"I-"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Blaine spun around to see a girl in blue gawking at her vest. Kurt had shot her too.

"Kurt, you're a dead eye!"

"Learn something new every day, huh?" He said with a smirk. "Come on, stick with me this time."

Kurt took his hand again and pulled him into battle.

"Blaine, you weren't _that_ bad! You did pretty well for your first time!"

"I think you spent more time saving me than you did yourself." Blaine sighed.

"That's how it's supposed to work. You're my partner and I'm supposed to take care of you. Besides, you saved me from that one girl."

"She was eight."

Later that night, Kurt and Blaine were wrapped up in a blanket with a bowl of popcorn in the Hummel's living room as _Hercules_ played on the television.

"Oh stop being such a party pooper!" Kurt laughed, throwing a piece of popcorn at Blaine, "You were _fine_!"

"Hey, I'm no party pooper!" Blaine countered, chucking a piece back at Kurt. Kurt laughed, dodging it and throwing another piece back at him.

"Here you go, boys," Kurt's mother said, placing a plate of cookies and two cups of tea on the coffee table "Don't spill."

"Merci, mama."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. And Kurt?"

"Yeah?" he asked, flinching at the popcorn heading for his face.

"You're father and I are going to bed so going to clean up that mess, right?" she said warningly.

"Yes, ma'am! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Mrs. Hummel." Blaine giggled, blocking Kurt's attack.

"Goodnight, mes beaux garçons."

After cleaning their mess and calming down, Kurt and Blaine settled into the blanket. As Meg sang her song about not being in love, Kurt's eyes started to get heavy. He rested his head on Blaine's shoulder, snuggling into his warmth. Blaine's heart doubled in its pace as he flushed to his hairline. He shifted his arm so he could wrap it around Kurt's waist. Kurt sighed contently, making Blaine's stomach flip. By the end of the movie, Kurt was fast asleep, ghosting slow breaths onto Blaine's chest.

"Kurt?" he whispered.

No response.

"Kurt?" he said a bit louder, shaking him a bit.

"Mmmm."

"Kurt, it's late, we should go upstairs."

"Mmmkay."

Blaine slipped out from under Kurt, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. He practically had to drag Kurt up the stairs and put him into the bed. Sliding onto the other side, Blaine pulled the covers over them.

"You know," Blaine sighed, "I don't think I could imagine a more perfect day."

"Mme too."

"Thank you, Kurt."

"Fffor what?" he slurred.

"For being my best friend. For being the best friend a kid could ever ask for."

"Mmm you too."

"I'm just- I'm just so lucky to have you, Kurt. You're so wonderful."

"Whyy?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

"How can you ask that? There are so many things. The way you smile, how it makes your nose crinkle so adorably."

At this, Kurt reflexively smiled the faintest of smiles, setting Blaine's heart into over drive.

"Your laugh, the way it rings out and makes my heart warm. Your skin," he said, touching Kurt's cheek gently with back of fingers, "and how pale and perfect it is. And how pink your cheeks get when I make you blush. The way you're always flipping your hair to get it just the way you want it. The way you dress the way you want to, no matter what other people think.

"Your eyes. Your eyes that are like nothing I've ever seen. Sometimes I look at them and I can't believe how pretty they are. They're so expressive and bright, like galaxies or something. The- the way you look so peaceful when you sleep…"

He raked his eyes over Kurt's features, soft and calm in the veil of sleep. Blaine was beside himself. He'd never really noticed just how much about Kurt he liked. The thing was, Blaine had always thought Kurt was pretty. He had since the first day they met on the playground all those years ago. But now, as he laid here with Kurt, it was as if he was seeing him for the first time in a whole new light. He noticed how soft Kurt's hair looked, and how much he wanted to run his fingers through it. And even now, he noticed how pink perfect his lips were.

"I- I don't know what I would do without you, Kurt. I've never felt like that about anyone… Sometimes I look at you and I feel like I'm a better person for being with you. Sometimes I just think that you're the most beautiful person I have ever seen."

Kurt only sighs in response, fast asleep.

"Kurt, I- I think I love you."

As if in cue, Kurt rolled over closer to Blaine, resting his head on his shoulder. Blaine felt as if his heart would explode at any moment. Any chance of Blaine sleeping was gone, he could only look at the perfect boy who lay beside him. He began to sing softly to him.

_Close your eyes, and I will be swimming,  
>lullabies fill your room, and I will be singing<br>singing to only you._

_Don't forget ill hold your head.  
>Watch the night sky fading red.<em>

_But as you sleep, and no one is listening,  
>I will lift you off your feet, I'll keep you from sinking.<br>Don't you wake up yet, cause soon I'll be leaving you  
>soon I'll be leaving you, but you won't be leaving me.<em>

Kurt stirs slightly, snuggling into Blaine more tightly. He can't help the rush of butterflies that fill his stomach.

_In the car, the radio leaves me searching for your star  
>a constellation of frustration driving hard<br>singing my thoughts back to me, and watching heartache on TV_

_But as you sleep, and no one is listening,  
>I will lift you off your feet, I'll keep you from sinking.<br>Don't you wake up yet, cause soon I'll be leaving you  
>soon I'll be leaving you, but you won't be leaving me.<em>

As Blaine finished the song, be wraps his arm around Kurt's shoulders, holding him close.

_I'm going to do it,_ he thinks. _I'm going to tell Kurt that I love him._


	5. Chapter 5

Warning: Physical abuse and battery.

The following week, Kurt and Blaine did their best to stay together, making sure that neither of them was alone for long. The school year was drawing to a close and with that came final exams. They spent every moment together, studying for their shared tests and helping each other with the classes. Without even realizing it, Blaine and Kurt started to blur the lines of friendship.

"I'm sure you did fine, Kurt," Blaine said, peering over his shoulder and rubbing his back to calm him.

"I'm just not a math person." He squeaked, "I'm so worried about that exam. It's worth 40% of our grade!"

"Kurt, relax! We studied for hours." Giving him a quick hug from behind. "I'm sure you did very well."

Kurt tilted his head up with a smile, leaning onto Blaine's stomach.

The bell rang signifying the end of the school day and the last day of the year. Kids scrambled out of the building, eager to start their summer vacation. Kurt and Blaine walked out of the school together and hopped onto their bus. They talked about their excitement about the summer and the plans they want to make.

"Can we go to the beach again this year?" Blaine practically begged, tugging on Kurt sleeve, "I had so much fun the last time we went."

"Ugh, Blaine you know how I hate the beach. I'm so pale, I feel like I'm glowing!"

"We can tan if you want?"

"No, you'll tan. I'll burn, then freckle." He said with a laugh.

"Come on, Kurt, it won't be that bad! Pleaaaase?"

Kurt looked at him with kind eyes. How could he say no to that face?

"We'll see."

Blaine practically bounced out of his seat. It wasn't a complete yes, but it wasn't a no either.

They jumped off the bus fifteen minutes later at the bus stop and walked arm in arm down the road to Blaine's house.

"I'm so excited for tonight." Kurt said contently.

They had planned out their afternoon earlier in the week. After school, they would take the bus to Blaine's house and then have a Harry Potter movie marathon to celebrate the end of their eighth grade year and the start of high school. Later when Blaine's parents came home, they were going to have a bonfire in his backyard, with the supervision of Mr. Anderson, to burn their old school papers.

"Me too." He said, blushing lightly.

What Kurt didn't know was that Blaine had been planning something else all week. He had finally decided that he was going to tell Kurt he loved him. It was going to be perfect. That night, around the fire, while they were sitting close, Blaine would take Kurt's hand and tell him about his feelings. And with any luck, Kurt would feel the same and they could start their freshman year together, not just as friends but also as boyfriends.

"Oh crap!" Kurt said, pulling Blaine out of his daydream.

"What's the matter?"

"I forgot my movie!"

"Which one was it?"

"The first one, The Sorcerer's Stone," Kurt said with a sigh, "Do you mind if I call my dad real quick? I'm sure he can bring it over."

"That's a good idea, that way we can get everything set up while we're waiting."

Kurt pulled out the new cell phone he had gotten for his birthday to make the call.

"Hey, Dad… Good, how are you? … Oh, sorry. I was wondering if you could bring me my Harry Potter movie? … Yeah, the first one… Awesome, thanks so much, Dad. I'll see you in a bit… Love you too. Bye."

"Everything all set?" Blaine smiled.

"Yup, he said he'll be over in about 15 minutes or so."

"Great, I can't wai-" Blaine stopped in his tracks. Kurt stopped after a few steps, looking at him with a quizzical expression.

"Blaine? Blaine, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, Blair, what's wrong?" called a voice. Kurt's head whipped around to see Jeremy and James Bubb standing with arms crossed, blocking their path.

"Everything seems perfect to me," said his twin.

Kurt backed into Blaine, who put an arm in front of him protectively.

"Stay away from us, Jeremy," Blaine warned, "I mean it."

"Whatever do you mean, Blair?" James sneered.

"_Blaine_." He corrected through his teeth.

"You know, we've had it up to here with your attitude, Blake. You and your little princess," Jeremy said, pointing to Kurt while taking a step forward. "We don't like the way you have been acting."

"Acting? Acting how?" Blaine asked, taking a step backward, trying to keep a good distance between them and the brothers.

"Touching each other, hugging, holding hands, it's not normal. No one wants to see you and that little fag of yours-"

"Don't you _dare_ call him that!" Blaine shouted. Kurt winced at the words, looking down at his feet, shaking in fear.

"We've gone easy on you so far, Anderson. I think it's time you got what's coming to you."

"Blaine," Kurt whispered, "run."

Simultaneously, Kurt and Blaine turned to run the opposite direction only to run into something in their path. In front of them stood a tall blonde boy with cruel grey eyes. He was clearly older than the four other boys, at least fifteen or sixteen. He towered over them with a sneer across his face.

"Where do you think you're going?" The boy asked, pushing them back.

"Took you long enough to get here, Aaron." James called, advancing with his brother.

"Yeah bro, we were gonna have to start without you."

Blaine grabbed Kurt's wrist and took off into the woods next to Blaine's house. They wound through the trees, trying to escape.

"Blaine," Kurt panted, "Blaine, I think that's the older brother Jeremy and James have been talking about."

But Blaine didn't have time to respond. He stopped them short, just barely dodging a rock barreling past their heads. The frightened boys turned to find that the Bubb brothers had surrounded them in the small clearing. Blaine backed Kurt up near a tree, trying his best to protect the boy he loved. Aaron advanced slowly on Kurt and Blaine, a large branch in his hands.

"Nowhere to go, fags," he spat.

"Why are you doing this?" Kurt shouted over Blaine's shoulder.

The three brothers laughed in unison, "Why?" Aaron gawked, "You should know why! I know that my younger brothers have told you enough times. The world is no place for faggots like you."

Blaine blushed deep red, thinking about how much he cared for Kurt. How he would do anything for him.

"So since you seem to refuse to change, you worthless piece of shit, we're going to have to beat the gay out of you."

The twins took their cue and pulled them apart.

"No, Kurt! No! You won't get away with this!" Blaine bellowed. "You're insane-"

Suddenly Aaron swung the branch smacking Blaine across the face and sending him spiraling to the ground.

"_Blaine!"_ Kurt shrieked. He elbowed Jeremy in the stomach, effectively escaping his grasp. Aaron moved menacingly toward the boy on the ground as he tried to pick himself up. The older boy kicked Blaine in the stomach, making him cough and collapse again. Jeremy, recovering from Kurt's attack, rushed to grab Kurt's arm and bent it behind his back. "_No! Blaine! Stop, please stop!"_ He sobbed.

"Stay back, fag," Aaron hissed, hitting Blaine on the back with the branch.

The green-eyed twin made to cover Kurt's mouth to stop his screaming. Kurt quickly bit down on Jeremy's hand, breaking free once again, and made his way to Blaine.

"I said, stay away!"

Aaron swung the branch again, hitting Kurt on the shoulder and sending him to the ground. Kurt, set on his goal, inched toward Blaine to cover him for further harm. Aaron grabbed Kurt's arm and threw him off the trembling boy. He towered over Kurt, placing his foot on top of one of his legs, holding him down.

"You're an abomination," He spat, "The next time I tell you to do something, you better fucking well _do it!" _

As he said those last two words, Aaron put all his weight on Kurt's leg, causing a sickening crack to fill the clearing. Kurt screamed in pain, his vision becoming blurry.

How did this happen? How did they get to this point? How had such a perfect afternoon turned into such disaster?

"Kurt?" Blaine moaned, struggling to his knees.

"Blaine," he whispered in response, tears streaming down his face before blacking out.

"Ugh, don't you fags know when to stay down?" Aaron groaned, grabbing Blaine by the collar and punching him in the face, sending him back into the tree behind him.

"Kurt?" called a voice from the edge of the woods. "_Kurt?"_

"Shit, Jer, James, let's _go!"_ With that, the Bubb brothers took off in the opposite direction, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone in the clearing.

"Oh my god, Kurt!" Burt's voice choked out as he approached them. "Oh my god."

He dropped the Harry Potter DVD he was still carrying and immediately pulled out his phone to call an ambulance. He fell to the ground, pulling Kurt into his arms.

"Kurt," Blaine said again, wanting to be with him but unable to move from the pain. He could already feel his eye swelling closed and he was pretty sure his nose was broken. Blaine felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. Kurt, his Kurt was unconscious just a few feet in front of him and there was nothing he could do about it. Burt began whispering to himself, crouching over Kurt's limp body.

"…it that damned kid's fault…I'm so sorry… this never would have happened… Kurt, Kurt please… if that kid had never come here, you'd be fine… oh god… never again… we're getting you out of here… never again…"

Blaine began to weep. Burt thought it was his fault they had been attacked. Maybe it was. He was the one with a crush on a boy after all. But there was nothing wrong with that; it was everyone else who was wrong. Feelings like this couldn't be wrong… could they?

The ambulance showed soon after, along with Blaine's father, taking the boys away separately.

Blaine just stared at the roof of the car with his one good eye the whole way to the hospital. Through the radio, the ambulance played music softly.

_And you ask me what I want this year  
>And I try to make this kind and clear<br>Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days_

Blaine didn't get a chance to see Kurt as they entered the hospital. Kurt was sent to the ER right away. He sat alone in his hospital bed with a large bandage across his purpling broken nose, while Mr. Anderson filed paperwork at the front desk. The room was dark and grey and anything but inviting.

_Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings  
>And desire and love and empty things<br>Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days_

_So take these words  
>And sing out loud<br>Cuz everyone is forgiven now  
>Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again<br>_

A few days later, Kurt left the hospital on crutches with a cast on his leg. He looked back at the hospital, wondering where Blaine was. He hadn't seen him since he'd passed out in the clearing and his father refused to talk about him. Was he alright? Was he hurt too?

_And it's someplace simple where we could live  
>And something only you can give<br>And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive_

Blaine walked through his front door to be greeted with a hug from his mother. He winced, still tender from the beating only a few days beforehand. His parents guided him up the stairs to his room to rest. He asked his mother about Kurt, rubbing the itchy bandage on his nose carefully. Katherine told him that he was fine, but nothing more.

_And the one poor child that saved this world  
>And there's 10 million more who probably could<br>If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them  
><em>

A week later, Blaine snuck out of his house to see Kurt. It had been almost two weeks since he had seen him. He just had to know that he was all right. As he bounded up the street, Blaine could see Mr. Hummel's car pulling out of the driveway, the backseat filled to the roof, Mrs. Hummel waving goodbye.

Blaine slowed his pace, stopping in front of Kurt's mother.

"Where are they going?" He asked out of breath.

"A boarding school." She said brokenly, patting Blaine on the shoulder and turning back toward the house.

_So take these words  
>And sing out loud<br>Cuz everyone is forgiven now  
>Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again<em>

For days, Blaine didn't leave his room. How could he? His best friend in the entire world was gone. And he didn't even get to say goodbye.

His parents, concerned about him, bought Blaine a guitar to have something to focus on. At first, he couldn't look at it, but as days turned into weeks and weeks into months; he picked it up and taught himself a few chords.

Blaine's voice rang out in his room singing the song that he could not shake with all the emotion he had been holding in:

_I wish everyone was loved tonight  
>And somehow stop this endless fight<br>Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days  
><em>

_Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again_


	6. Chapter 6

Finn Hudson crashed the cymbals together, counting in the other members of the band to the song. His foot pounded heavily on the bassdrum that read "Don't Blinnk" in red letters. Noah Puckerman, standing on his right, kept the song going on bass guitar, winking at the on looking members of the glee club. Mike Chang, on synthesizer, looked at his girlfriend Tina Cohen-Chang from his place on Finn's left. She blew him a kiss with a smile.

The lead singer stood at the front of the band. His worn out jeans and Converse clad feet danced to the music as he wailed on guitar through the opening chords. His curly, dark brown hair, ever so slightly gelled to add an air of badassery, bounced along with the music. He looked up at his audience through long lashes and burning golden eyes as he started the first verse.

_Three p.m., on my feet and staggering_

At the last word, he staggered comically as if drunk. Though the kids laughed, their teacher, Mr. Schuester was not as amused.

_Through misplaced words  
>And a sinking feeling, I got carried away<em>

_Sick, sick of sleeping on the floor  
>Another night, another score<em>

As he sang the line, he looked at the pretty blonde with the blue-green eyes in the center of the room. Brittany Pierce smiled back at him as he winked at her, making her giggle.

_I'm jaded, bottles breaking_

_You're only happy when I'm wasted  
>I point my finger but I just can't place it<br>Feels like I'm falling in love  
>When I'm falling to the bathroom floor<em>

_I remember how you tasted  
>I've had you so many times, let's face it<br>Feels like I'm falling in love alone_

The curly haired boy pointed to the blonde again, making her and her Latina best friend, Santana, squeal.

_Stella, would you take me home?  
>Stella, would you take me home?<br>_

Puck took a step forward; ready to sing the next verse.

_2 a.m., I'm on a blackout binge again  
>You know I don't need sleep<br>And I lost my keys, but I got so many friends  
><em>

His fellow band members shouted to him in agreement.

_And they keep, keep me coming back for more_

The lead guitarist pulled him in for a quick side hug, singing the back up vocals into a shared microphone.

_Another night, another score  
>I'm faded, bottles breaking<em>

_I remember how you tasted  
>I've had you so many times, let's face it<br>Feels like I'm falling in love alone  
>Stella, would you take me home?<em>

The lead singer jumped back to his mic, taking hold of the song once more.

_One more reason, I should never have met you  
>Just another reason I could never forget you<br>Down we go_

Dramatically, he spun to the ground, picking himself up just in time to sing the next line.

_The room's spinning out of control_

_You're only happy when I'm wasted  
>I point my finger but I just can't place it<br>Feels like I'm falling in love  
>When I'm falling to the bathroom floor<em>

_I remember how you tasted  
>I've had you so many times, let's face it<em>

_Stella, would you take me home?_

The room burst into applause as the band took a bow.

"Very, uh, nice guys," Mr. Schue, said at the class calmed down. "But can you _please_ try to play something that is school appropriate?"

"Mr. Schue, that song rocked," Puck argued. "And Don't Blinnk is good!"

"I'm not saying that your band or the song wasn't good, but a song about partying and blacking out isn't something that you should be singing here. Save it for your concerts, yeah?"

"Uh, which is in two weeks, just so you guys know," Finn added to the class. "So you should totally come and support us."

"It's gonna fucking rock!"

"Blaine Anderson, watch your mouth in my classroom," his teacher warned. "Class is dismissed for the day everyone, remember to start thinking about our Sectionals numbers, guys! It's only a few weeks away!"

As the class began to file out, Blaine hung back to pack up his equipment.

"Yo, Anderson," Puck called. Blaine looked up from his guitar case at his best friend, "Remember that practice is at my house tonight at seven o' clock. Wanna come over until then and play Gears of War 3? I'll have my mom make us mini pizzas."

"No, I have to go home and clean my room before my dad beats the piss out of me again. But I'll meet you there at seven, okay? And can you take my guitar? I've got my bike today."

"Sure thing, dude. Later."

Blaine grabbed his leather jacket off the back of his chair and made to leave the room. Suddenly, Brittany materialized in front of him. She instantly attached her lips to Blaine's, pulling him into a passionate kiss. Blaine responded numbly, kissing her back and pushing her lightly into the piano behind her. She wrapped her arms around his neck with a sigh before pulling away.

"That was hot." She said purred.

"The kiss or the song?" Blaine asked, his arms still around her waist.

"Well, both. But I was talking about the song."

"Thanks, babe." He said hollowly.

Brittany leaned in again, kissing him more softly this time, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Blaine pulled on his leather jacket, headed out of the classroom, and down the hall to his locker. He put away the books he didn't need for the night and slammed it shut, leaving the building. There were few car left in the parking lot as Blaine headed to the far end.

Suddenly from behind a large pickup truck, two blonde blurs sped out in front of him. Before Blaine had a chance to avoid it, two red slushies rained down on him. Wiping the freezing drink out of his eyes, Blaine looked up at his attackers.

"Thought we forgot about you today, Anderson?" Jeremy Bubb taunted, an empty cup in his hand.

"But don't worry, we could never forget about you," his twin brother James added. "You're our favorite customer!"

"Tag team slushie facial!" They said together, giving Blaine a shove and retreating across the parking lot.

Blaine did his best to wipe himself off with dignity, removing most of the red ice.

_God damned Beelzebubs_, He though to himself. See, after the Bubbs attack on him when he was younger, his father had taken to calling the twins the "Beelzebubs" or "Minions of Satan". Personally, Blaine thought it was a very fitting name.

At the far end of the parking lot, Blaine spotted his ride, a black ninja motorcycle. It had been a present from his father for his sixteenth birthday; one of the few advantages of having a hard working dad.

He threw on his matching black helmet and kick started the engine. God how he loved the sensation of his bike coming to life beneath him. Blaine turned out of the parking lot and took off down the road toward his house. The fall air cut through his leather jacket, making his arms and chest cold, not that he cared. Blaine loved the feeling of the cool wind against him. It made him feel alive. He could be anyone on his bike. No one could see his face. He could be the middle aged man going through a midlife crisis or the misguided teen who had fallen off the tracks one too many times. After fifteen minutes or so, Blaine pulled into the empty driveway at the Anderson homestead. Hopping off the bike, he pulled it through the door and rested against the wall in its place next to his father's empty parking space. He entered the painfully quiet house, shutting the door with a deafening _bang!_

This house was much smaller than the first house they had owned in Lima. After Blaine's mom had left them, his father had decided to downsize. With his father away on business most of the time and his mother gone for almost five years now he had the house to himself a lot. He supposed that having a smaller house wasn't necessarily a bad thing; a smaller house meant less empty spaces to fill by himself.

Blaine climbed up the stairs to his bedroom at the end of the hall. Once in his room, he hung up his jacket in the closet behind the door. Despite what he had told Puck about his room, it was actually spotless. He had always kept his room tidy. It was the only place that he could let his guard down.

He plopped down on his bed, reaching over to turn on his stereo. Katy Perry's newest song filled his ears. Of course it was Katy Perry. Though he would never admit to it, he loved that sort of music. He liked Michael Bublé and the Goo Goo Dolls, but it was "uncool" for guys to like that sort of thing. So at school he said he tolerated Katy Perry because she had great tits and Brit liked her and he said that Michael Bublé was only for girls and queers.

Being gay at McKinley was simply not an accepted thing. Luckily for him, he wasn't gay nor did he know anyone who was. Brittany was his girlfriend. She was a hot, blonde cheerleader, for fuck's sake! Blaine had gotten lucky. After joining the soccer team his sophomore year of high school and leading the team to their first state victory in ten years, the bullying lessened for a while and the girls suddenly found him desirable. Although, after joining the glee club late last year, the bullying had started to pick back up again, but he could live with it if it gave him an excuse to sing. And sure, Brit was a bit slow… okay, she had the intelligence of a doorknob, but she was what every boy could hope for.

"Yo, asshole, the Puckinator is callin' you_!_ _Pick up the phone!"_ rang his phone.

_I have got to change that ringtone_, he thought to himself.

"Hey, Puck," he sighed.

"Dude, are you done yet?"

"What?"

"With your room, is it cleaned?"

"Oh, right. My room. Yeah, it's alright."

"Good, now get your ass over here. I need help setting up for tonight."

"Yeah, alright, I'll be over in a bit."

"Cool." Puck hung up without saying goodbye.

Blaine signed again and crawled off his bed. He grabbed his coat from the closet and turned off the light, heading for the door.

The sun had fallen behind the trees, cooling the air quickly. Blaine decided to take his car instead of the motorcycle.

Pushing the garage door opener button, Blaine stepped into the low riding, black Lamborghini, another perk of a hardworking father. He pulled easily out of the garage and down the street. Blaine loved his Lamborghini, the way it purred around him, almost as much as his bike and loved rubbing it in Puck's face even more.

That night at practice, the boys didn't get too much work done for their upcoming concert. The focus was on Sectionals. Puck, Mike, and Blaine sat on a worn out couch in the Puckerman's garage surrounded by band equipment watching as Finn nervously paced back and forth in front of them.

"Finn, if you don't stop, you're going to wear a hole in the floor." Blaine said.

"I just- I'm worried," Finn stumbled over his words, "We _have_ to make it to Nationals this year. We're good enough!"

"Then I don't know why you're so worried." Puck said, leaning back onto the couch with his hands behind his head.

"Because, this is important!" he snapped, turning to face them, "Don't you get it? If we can prove to the school that we're good enough to win at Nationals, then nothing can stop us. We'll be the at the top of the school!"

"Hey," Puck warned, "Between my badassery and his win at the state championships, Anderson and I already got that."

"This is serious, Puck. We don't have anything for Sectionals and we have no idea what we're up against this year."

"I'm with Finn," Mike piped in, "I think we really need to work on this. We don't want a repeat of what happened last year with the Haverhurst School for the Deaf and those girl from Jane Adams."

"What happened with them?" Blaine asked.

"Oh yeah, I always forget you joined late and weren't in glee yet." Mike smiled, patting Blaine on the back, "See, last year someone leaked our set list to our competitors and they stole all our songs out from under us. We were forced to change our entire routine on the spot."

"But you won, didn't you?"

"Yeah, only by default because the coach of Jane Adams turned herself in and come on, really? A deaf school in a singing contest?"

"But we won't have that this year." Finn added, "We're gonna need to be on our best game to beat these guys."

"Who are our opponents, Finn?" Mike asked.

Finn pulled out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket. As co-captain of the glee club, Mr. Schue had given Finn a list of the other teams. "Let's see, there's the Perry High's Hell's Angels. From what I've seen at football games, it's a rough part of town. And the other is the Dalton Academy Warblers, an all boy's acapella group."

"Dalton _Academy_?" Blaine scoffed.

"Yeah," Finn shrugged. "It's an all guy's boarding school."

"All boy's boarding school? Gross. Too many dicks, not enough chicks." Puck laughed, turning to give Blaine a high five.

"Puck, can't you take anything seriously?" Mike scolded. "This is important. We need to figure out a fool proof plan to beat these guys!"

Puck leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, finally caving into the conversation. "Why don't we just go and spy on the other teams and see what they're planning? Find out their strengths and weaknesses and then work from there?"

"Puck, isn't that cheating?" Blaine pointed out.

"I like to think of it as 'creative strategy'."

"Look," Finn sighed. "Why don't we call it a night and regroup tomorrow or something? We can talk about this with the rest of the glee club."

They nodded, breaking their formation to clean up from rehearsal. Blaine snapped his guitar case closed with a sigh. How were they going to beat these other teams? It was his first competition with the New Directions and he wanted to be an asset to them, making sure that they won. But how?

"Anderson."

Blaine rolled his eyes, turning around to answer Puck, "What do you want, Puckerman?"

"Look, without finding out how strong our competition is, we're going to loose."

"That's the spirit!" Blaine said sarcastically.

"Come on, Blaine," Puck pleaded, "Rock, paper, scissors. One round. Loser spies on the boy's school."

Blaine sighed, offering his hand. Puck's face split into a grin, presenting his fist.

"Rock, paper, scissor, _shoot_!"

Blaine looked down at their hands having thrown rock, expecting Puck to pull the typical scissors. Puck's hand stretched out flat.

Paper.

"Fuck. You're lucky I like you." Blaine growled.

"Whoa, no going queer on me now, dude. You haven't even gotten to the school yet."


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Blaine skipped school. But this time it wasn't because Puck forced him to go to play video games or to sneak into an R rated movie. No. This time, even though Puck was initially behind it, Blaine was doing this for himself. He was actually really interested in the idea of an all boys' school. In his mind, a place like that could either be really fun with no girls to fight over or really awful, because there were no girls.

Blaine had made sure to get there on an off-hour, so he could sneak around easier. What he hadn't counted on was how big the school was. Sure, McKinley was a big public school, but Dalton was different. The main academic building stood in the front of the lot with three dorms behind.

_They all look like old mansions converted into a school._ Blaine noted. _It's kind of pretty though._

Blaine had taken all the precautions into thought. Last night, after doing some light research, he had found out that the school had a dress code and uniforms. Judging by the fact that everything on their website was red and navy, he guessed those were the colors of the uniforms. Blaine wore his best navy suit jacket, tan slacks, and a red tie. That looked prep school enough. As a safety precaution, Blaine had spent a good twenty minutes on his hair that morning, smoothing down his curls with eight pounds of gel.

As he entered the doors, the sheer beauty of the building took him aback. Everything looked so old and ornate. Snapping back into reality, he scrambled up the grand spiral staircase in search of what he had so fondly begun to call "The Warbler's Nest". Before he could make it all the way to the top of the staircase, a bell sounded and every door burst open, boys in blue blazers with red piping and striped ties piling out of classrooms.

Blaine panicked. He stuck out like a sore thumb. What was he going to do? What if he was caught? Would he be disqualified from Sectionals?

In his panic, Blaine did happen to notice that most of the boys were headed in the same direction. What was that all about? He chose to follow suit and head back down the stairs. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to ask someone what the hell was going on.

"Excuse me!" He called to a boy with chestnut hair who had just passed him. "Um, hi, can I ask you a question? I'm new here."

The boy stood rim rod straight and turned around, shock the first expression on his face. His features softened as he raked his eyes over Blaine's obvious lack of uniform.

"My name is Kurt." He said, extending his hand.

"Blaine." He responded, taking his hand. Suddenly, it felt like an electric pulse had pasted between them, strong yet familiar.

_What the hell was that?_

"So, what exactly is going on?" Blaine asked, ignoring the strange sensation.

"The Warblers!" Kurt said as if it was obvious.

Blaine's ears perked up, sensing he had found what he was searching for. He shot Kurt a quizzical look.

"Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance in the senior commons. It tends to shut down the school for a while," he explained with a wink.

This was news to Blaine. At McKinley, the New Directions were at the bottom of the social food chain, below the AV nerds. This didn't make any sense.

"So wait, the glee club here is kind of cool?"

"The Warblers are like rock stars!"

Blaine couldn't wrap his head around the idea. Being in a glee club was a girly thing to do; it was something everyone made fun of. But this place, Dalton Academy, was so different from his own school.

Kurt, sensing his doubt, pulled on his hand, "Come on, I know a shortcut."

Kurt took him through an empty hallway with the most lavish furnishings and paintings. It was stunning. Blaine could get used to a place like this.

Kurt and Blaine entered the commons bursting through the side doors. The room was packed with boys in uniform, moving furniture and finding places to sit. Blaine suddenly felt self-conscious, knowing he looked out of place in his jacket and tan pants.

"Oh my god, I stick out like a sore thumb," Blaine said under his breath.

Kurt smiled at him. "Well next time don't forget your jacket, new kid. You'll fit right in. But I must say, Armani? Nice choice."

Blaine gawked at him. No one had ever called him out on his style before. It was something he had tried hard to hide over the years, the bullying had seen to that. "Now, if you'll excuse me," Kurt said with another wink, backing away from him and into the center of the crowd.

Upon seeing him, the Warblers picked up on the backbeat, creating a symphony of sound with nothing but their mouths. Blaine picked out the beat boxer who stood tall in the back of the group. He had bright blonde hair that spiked at the tips and pale blue eyes that seemed to pulse every time he made the downbeat.

Blaine watches as Kurt making his way to the front of the group…

Wait.

No.

Kurt was the lead singer for the Warblers!

_There he goes  
>My baby walks so slow<br>Sexual tic-tac-toe  
>Yeah, I know we both know<br>It isn't time, no  
>But could you be m-mine?<em>

_Would you be m-mine?  
>Would you be m-mine?<em>

Kurt winked at Blaine from across the room. He could feel his face flushing just from the gesture. Kurt circled the commons, pulling on ties, sliding against sides, and teasing every guy within his reach. Because clearly what Kurt was doing was bothering everyone else, right? Sure, Kurt was a guy, but _no one_ could resist the way that he, oh god, _thrust_ up to them… Right?

_Oh baby, light's on  
>But your mom's not home<br>I'm sick of laying down alone, hey  
>With this fever, fever, yeah<br>My one and own_

Kurt twirled up to Blaine hanging onto his lapel and looked straight into his eyes.

_I wanna get you alone_

He released Blaine a second later, peering over his shoulder with a look that made Blaine's knees weak. That happened to everyone, right?

_Give you fever, fever, yeah  
><em>

Kurt was back at the front of the room, dancing, if you could really call it that, with the rest of the Warblers, who in turn, were giving the on looking students bedroom eyes. Kurt spun in time, pulling the focus back on him.

_There it goes  
>You're still my soul and so<br>'Cause, sweetheart  
>No-no-nobody a-kno-kno-knows me<em>

He waved in and out of the other Warblers, sneaking around and adding an element of comedy. Blaine couldn't take his eyes off of him.

_Or can find me, ooh  
>Time to be m-mine, mine<br>_

Standing back up front, Kurt led the glee club through the next round of choreography.

_Let's get inside your car  
>Just you, me and the stars<br>Kind of ménage à trois, sometimes  
>Would you be m-mine?<br>Would you be m-mine?  
>Would you be m-mine?<br>_

Blaine's eyes widened at the sheer power behind Kurt's voice as he flawlessly hit the high note on the last phrase.

_Who is this guy?_ Blaine wondered. _Behind that incredibly flirtatious exterior, he almost seems familiar. _

Blaine watched as Kurt spun again with the group, his chestnut hair, so perfect, bouncing with every move he made. His eyes shone like sun reflecting off of the ocean, captivating Blaine. His hips rolled with the sound of the beat-

_No. Stop that._ Blaine thought, dragging his eye elsewhere with a blush.

_Yeah, yeah, yeah  
>Yeah, yeah, yeah<br>Yeah, yeah, yeah!  
>You baby, oh baby, oh baby, yeah, oh baby, you're mine! <em>

Blaine's eyes widen once more. Good god, Kurt's voice when he shot up the octave and growled the way he did; it was like pure _sex_.

_Baby you're mine, mine, you're mine_

_Oh baby, light's on  
>But your mom's not home<br>I'm sick of laying down alone  
>With this fever, fever, yeah<br>My one and own  
>I wanna get you alone<br>I got this fever that I can't sweat out  
><em>

_Give you my f-f-fever, my f-fever  
>Give you my f-f-fever, my f-fever!<br>Give you fever, fever, yeah  
>Give you fever, fever, yeah!<em>

The room burst into cheers and applause as the students swamped the Warblers to congratulate them. Blaine clapped along with the other boys but kept his distance. He could practically feel the heat coming off of his blush and the lust burning in his eyes. Why the hell had that affected him so much? Sure, he liked Adam Lambert, though he would never admit it out loud, but why was he feeling so lightheaded? He didn't like it. He had gotten what he had come for and he needed to get out before-

"Hey," Kurt said, trotting up to him.

He suddenly looked like a different person, composed, kind, and sweet. He didn't understand, what was happening to him? What was going on? But Blaine couldn't get the image of him dancing out of his head. And his voice, it was like nothing he had ever heard. And this boy's eyes; they haunted him. They were such a vibrant splatter of color; bright blue with, oh hey, a honey golden center that spread like an exploding star. Oh, those eyes were looking at him right now, expectantly.

"Huh?" Blaine blinked.

"I said, what did you think? You know, of the performance?"

"Oh, yeah," he stuttered, "It was, uh, it was interesting."

Kurt smirked at him. "I have a free period next, would you like to have coffee with me?

"So what brings you here, Blaine?" Kurt asked over his coffee cup, his posture still flawless, even when sitting. And judging by his rim rod straight posture, Blaine could tell that Kurt was uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently. "I told you before, I'm new here."

"Mmm, yes. So then tell me, who's your history teacher?"

He had him there. Blaine hadn't thought that far into his scheme. He had expected to get in and get out; this coffee date was not in the plan. Is that what this was? A date?

"Okay, okay, fine you got me." Blaine said, raising his hands in surrender.

"I thought so." Kurt smiled faintly. "Tell me, which school are you from?"

"McKinley. Do you know it?"

"I do…" Blaine couldn't help but notice how Kurt's eyes darkened at the mention of the school. Odd.

"So, uh, that performance, aren't you worried about it?" Blaine asked, changing the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"Well it was, uh, well, open and uh, sexy…"

"Thank you." Kurt beamed.

"No, no. What I meant was it came across very, uh, how do I put this? Gay? I mean, you were flirting with all those guys!"

Kurt smiled without feeling, "Blaine, I may be gay, but I was not flirting with my classmates. I was simply adding to the mood of the song. Clearly it worked."

Blaine blushed, "So, so is this an all-gay school then?"

Kurt laughed dryly at him.

"No, Blaine, we're not all gay. We simply have a zero tolerance, no bullying policy. Pretty simple."

Blaine's eyes widened. No bullying policy? Did something like that actually exist? He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't been bullied. Ever since he moved to Ohio, he had been the subject of ridicule and physical violence. No matter what he did, there were always people who picked on him for one reason or another. Dalton suddenly seemed like heaven on earth. Sure, there were no girls, but that wasn't all bad, right?

"Blaine?"

"What?" he said, coming out of his daze.

"You're doing it again. Zoning out."

"Oh, god, sorry."

"Something on your mind?"

He looked at the blue-eyed Warbler with a feeling he couldn't quite place. Acceptance? Understanding? Trust?

"I- alright. I don't know why I'm telling you this," and he did. He told Kurt the whole story. He told him about these two boys from school who seemed to make it their life's mission to make his life a living hell at any cost. He told him about how no matter what he did, nothing was ever good enough and he was always an outcast. He told him about the incident all those years ago with his friend in the woods. How he hadn't seen him since. How he thought he might have had fe- oops, nope. Not that. Why did he feel compelled to tell this boy all of this? It was no concern of his. He didn't need to know about the woes of Blaine's past. Yet, Blaine felt so comfortable with him.

Noticing the silence that had fallen between them, Blaine finally looked up at the boy on the other side of the table. There were tears at the corner of his eyes that he refused to let fall, making his already insanely beautiful eyes bluer.

"I- hey, don't do that!" Blaine pleaded, "It's not that big a deal. I'm fine!"

"Anderson,"

"Huh?"

"Would your last name happen to be Anderson?"

"Uh, yeah. How- how did you know that?"

"Blaine," he whispered, "Blaine, it's me. It's me Kurt. From the playground."

"K-Kurt? Kurt Hummel?" he asked, the realization hitting him like a freight train.

"I can't believe its you."

"I know."

Over the next few hours, Blaine and Kurt sat in the senior commons and talked. Neither cared about missing the rest of their school day. Neither cared that it was after school hours now. All that mattered was that they had found each other again.

Blaine filled him in on what had happened after he left for boarding school.

"And after joining the soccer team and glee club, my popularity still sucked."

"And whatever happened to Aaron?" Kurt asked, leaning in on his elbows, engrossed in the conversation.

"Aaron was caught soon after the attack." He explained, "I heard that he was diagnosed with being Bi-Polar and was sent to Juve."

"And the twins?"

"Oh, the Beelzebubs? They're still around."

"Pardon me, the what?"

"Oh, right. It's a nickname my dad gave them several years ago after the incident."

"Hmm, fitting." Kurt smiled grimly. "And your mother? Katherine? How is she?"

"I wouldn't know. She left my dad and me soon after my nose finally healed. I think she went back to New York; the country life was never for her. So my dad and I moved to a smaller house on the other side of town and I haven't been back since."

"Oh, Blaine, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's been almost five years now. What about you? How are your mom and dad?"

"Well, my dad is doing well. He quit his old job at the garage and has his own tire shop now. Business is booming, I guess, but I'm never home to know it. And well, my mother passed away at the end of July, after our attack. Car crash."

"Kurt,"

"No, like you said, we're big boys now. I'm fine. Besides, my dad met someone else a few years later, a wonderful woman named Carol. She's great."

Blaine asked how Kurt had ended up in Dalton in the first place.

"Once I was checked into the hospital, my dad searched for a new school for me. He didn't want me to go to high school in the same district in fear of something worse happening to me. So, as soon as I got out, my dad packed up my things and moved me here," he said, gesturing to the room around them, "And I've been here ever since."

"But why here?"

"Because of the no bullying policy. At first I thought he was being ridiculous, but ultimately it helped me discover who I really was. Without it, I don't think I would be as comfortable with my sexuality as I am now."

Blaine squirmed a little in his seat. That's right. Kurt was gay. Go figure. After all these years, it was _Kurt_ who ended up being gay. Blaine didn't realize it, but he envied Kurt. He was able to express who he was without fear of being judged or bullied. He seemed so at ease. Blaine wished he had that luxury.

"There's still one thing I don't understand, Kurt. Why didn't you contact me? All these years and nothing. I- I've really missed you, Kurt."

"I've missed you too," he said looking away. "It was my dad…"

"What?"

"My dad, he, he told me you didn't make it."

"Make it where? To the hospital?"

"He told me you had died in the clearing that day, Blaine. How was I to know? I passed out before the ambulance arrived." Blaine felt like he had been punched in the gut. Died? Why would he have done that? Kurt was his best friend, why would Mr. Hummel try to keep them apart? "I begged him to let me go to your funeral, but of course, with my broken leg, he said no."

He looked at the shell of the boy he once knew. Time had changed them and Kurt was a different person now. But Blaine knew that despite how different they may be, he wanted to get to know this new Kurt that he had stumbled upon on that staircase. Blaine wanted nothing more than to reach across that table and grab Kurt's hand, to tell him that everything was going to be all right.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered, keeping his hands laced in front of him. Kurt looked up at his words, his eyes hollow with the memory. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here now. There's so much that we've missed and, to be honest, I want to make up for lost time."

Kurt smiled his first real smile of the whole day. It was not forced or fake and it took Blaine's breath away.

"I'd like that."

As it had gotten so late, Blaine was forced to leave his old friend with the promise of another coffee date at the Lima Bean. They exchanged numbers and promised to talk soon.

Blaine got into his car in a daze. He knew he had missed Kurt, but up until now, he hadn't realized just _how_ much he had missed him. It was a weird feeling. One he had not experienced in a long time. He could tell that Kurt had changed a lot over the years. How he had learned the art of molding his hair into a perfect style that framed his face in all the best ways. How he had grown into his nose. How his jaw had developed into that of a handsome young man. Whoa. Handsome? Did friends call their other guy friends 'handsome'? He had never done that with Puck. But with Kurt it was different. Right? But the thing that grabbed Blaine the most were Kurt's eyes. Sure, they were still the prettiest eyes he had ever seen, but there was something different about how the light caught them. As if that spark that Blaine had secretly been drawn to all those years ago, was somehow gone. No, not gone, just snuffed out because he knew that even though he might not know him well now, deep down, his best friend was still there.

When Blaine drove home that night, he couldn't help but sing along to the music playing softly.

_I don't know you  
>But I want you<br>All the more for that_

From the courtyard of Dalton, Kurt walked back to his dorm. He thought of Blaine, oblivious to the fact that the song he was singing was also the one on his mind. Kurt looked over his shoulder where Blaine would be disappearing down the road. It puzzled him. Blaine had this certain effect on him that no one else had. He began to sing softly to himself, hoping that no one would hear.

_Words fall through me  
>And always fool me<br>And I can't react_

Blaine clutched the steering wheel, thinking of all the walls he had put up since entering high school, all the charades he had to put on to protect himself from, well, himself.

_And games that never amount  
>To more than they're meant<br>Will play themselves out  
><em>

And together they sang to each other without even knowing it.

_Take this sinking boat and point it home  
>We've still got time<br>Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice  
>You've made it now<br>_

Blaine, having made it home, walked into his bedroom and fell onto his bed, wrapped up in too many thoughts. Thoughts about Kurt.

_Falling slowly, eyes that know me  
>And I can't go back<em>

Kurt unlocked the door to his single dorm room to turn in for the night. He hung his jacket on the back of his desk chair and sat on the edge of his bed, gazing out the window.

_Moods that take me and erase me  
>And I'm painted black<em>

_Take this sinking boat and point it home  
>We've still got time<br>Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice  
>You've made it now<em>

Blaine closed his eyes tightly, unsure of this strange feeling.

_Falling slowly sing your melody_

Kurt looked at his hands in his lap with a sigh. He whispered the last line of the song with Blaine.

_I'll sing along_

**Well, there you have it! The two songs I used were **_**Fever**_** by Adam Lambert and **_**Falling Slowly**_**, the Kris Allen version. Yes, that is where I got the name for the fic. Honestly, I think it fits well. And how about **_**Fever**_**? Hot stuff, Mr. Hummel.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Kurt switched off his alarm clock that morning in a drowsy haze. He had never been a morning person. Ever a creature of habit, he pulled off the sheets and stumbled into his bathroom. One of the perks of Dalton; single rooms and your own bathroom. Staring into the mirror he frowned. He looked a wreck. As he should. It was six o' clock in the morning and he hadn't slept well last night, his dreams full of memories he had tried to forget.

Kurt switched on his iPod hopped into the shower. The voices of Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel filled the room, his hidden guilty pleasure. Kurt had a bit of a reputation as music went. Being the lead singer of The Warblers, Kurt was expected to keep up on all the current artists. As time progressed, Kurt had developed a reputation for only listening to hot, sexy music. But behind closed doors, that was the farthest from the truth. Kurt actually loved sweet songs. He adored Broadway and showtunes. And as far as current songs went, he was more of an Adele or Goo Goo Dolls fan. Sure, he sang about sex, but Kurt could never actually act on something like that.

Stepping out of the shower thirty minutes later, he felt more in a right mind and started his morning skin regimen. Kurt probably had more skin products than any one drugstore.

He threw on a fresh button down shirt and pair of grey slacks. He tied his Dalton red and blue striped tie and tugged on his blazer, ready for school. Grabbing his books, he headed out the door, knocking over a box he used as a bookend on his desk and spilling its contents everywhere. With a grumble, Kurt bent down to pick up the mess.

Huh. There were a lot of odd things in the box. An _Aladdin_ VHS, an old grape lollipop wrapper, a bunch of old photos he just didn't have the time to look at, and…

His blue friendship bracelet. The one that Blaine had given him at Blaine's tenth birthday party. Even after his father told him that Blaine had passed away, Kurt wore the bracelet every single day for years. It wasn't until the end of the past school year that he had finally decided to take it off.

He smiled fondly at the small plastic piece of jewelry. He slipped it onto his wrist, admiring the way it complemented his skin tone. It _was_ pretty cute and the color really _did_ match his eyes, just as Blaine had said all those years ago.

Kurt quickly closed the box and placed it back on his desk. He grabbed his books again and headed to his class.

First class: Advanced European History.

Kurt took pride in his schoolwork. Since his freshman year, he had made sure to take the hardest classes Dalton could offer. Sure, at first it was to keep his mind off the loss of his best friend and later his mother, but eventually, it became one of the few things Kurt actually cared about. All of the teachers, well, doctors mostly, were very strict with their workload and would not tolerate excuses. Lucky for Kurt, other than glee club, he didn't have anything else to occupy his time with, so teachers tended to like him for the most part.

But being a "teacher's pet" didn't come without problems. Dalton may have technically had a zero tolerance bullying policy, but that didn't completely stop it from happening. It was a school full of teenaged guys, after all. There was far too much testosterone for there to ever be complete peace. Kurt, never having missed an assignment and having the highest grade point average, was typically the recipient of the harassment.

Kurt put up a pretty good front, fighting back with witty comments and sarcastic remarks. But underneath all the layers, Kurt couldn't have been more alone.

But Kurt could live with being alone if it meant he wouldn't get hurt again. After hearing of Blaine's death and then his mother soon after, Kurt stopped trying. He couldn't handle more heartache.

Kurt headed through the crowded halls of Dalton later that day, making his way to his last class of the day. Boys talked together with their friends or boyfriends as they went to their classes. Kurt walked alone. He happened to make eye contact with a tall boy heading in the opposite direction. The boy winked at him and he rolled his eyes heavenward. Guys didn't hit on him often; it must have been his complete lack of allure that kept them away.

Kurt had officially come out the fall of his sophomore year, around the same time he joined the Warblers. It was never a big deal at Dalton to hear of yet another boy coming out and his father had been incredibly accepting of him, so that was never really a big issue for him.

But when he came out, people _did_ treat him differently. Not negatively, well more negative than usual, just different. A few guys actually hit on him. But one guy in particular was the most persistent. His name was Robin, a senior at the time. He had a head of messy dark hair and a strong chin. Kurt supposed he was cute; he kind of had a thing for dark hair. They dated briefly late that spring. Kurt knew that he shouldn't get too attached to Robin; he was a senior after all and would be leaving for college in the fall. During their time together Robin taught Kurt how to accentuate his natural good looks with hair products and the right clothing. Kurt found that he actually had a knack for that sort of thing and it soon became a hidden passion of his. Not that his talents for fashion could be used in a place like Dalton and its, let's be honest, cliché uniforms.

Kurt broke it off with Robin soon after his graduation, knowing all too well that Robin would have done it sooner or later. Kurt was unfazed by the break up. He had never put much emotion in to the relationship to begin with. After Robin, Kurt dated no one, deciding to keep his walls up permanently. Eventually, Kurt became a shell of the boy he used to be, trapped behind the stress of challenging courses, a competing choir, and his own insecurities.

That was, until Blaine came along.

Blaine. His Blaine from childhood had suddenly materialized back into his life. But, this meeting was completely different from the last time he had seen Blaine. Though he was still shorter than Kurt by a few inches, Blaine had matured a lot since then. His hair, though comically gelled back, was no longer that mop of curls from their early days. His jaw had grown strong and prominent, with an equally inviting Adam's Apple. And his eyes. His eyes were still that beautiful liquid gold that even as kids, sent his heart into frenzy but with an added new feeling that Kurt couldn't quite place. All in all, Kurt found Blaine attractive. And not just attractive, but _attractive_.

Kurt hadn't felt this way about anyone since, well, since Blaine back when they were kids.

"Mr. Hummel?" scolded his teacher.

"Huh?"

"The answer, if you please."

"Uh," he scanned the board frantically, doing the problem in his head, "F equals four X cubed plus one all over the square root of two X raised to the fourth plus two X minus one."

His professor blinked at him, shocked, "Oh, well, yes, that's correct. Just, try to pay, uh, pay attention…"

Kurt smirked. Sometimes having no social life and being a know-it-all paid off.

Suddenly Kurt felt something hit the back of his head and fall into his lap. He picked up the small piece of paper and unfolded it.

Lucky guess, loser. See you at practice.

Kurt turned in his seat to see Emmett Adams grinning at him, then turning to give Collin Able a high five.

And sometimes, having no social life and being a know-it-all didn't pay off.

After Warblers practice that afternoon, Kurt drove himself to the Lima Bean to meet Blaine. Blaine had texted earlier to invite him and really, how could he refuse? But if Kurt was being honest with himself, he was extremely nervous. Why should he be? It was just Blaine. It was just a coffee date with his old best friend that he hadn't seen in years because he had presumably died then showed back up in his life out of nowhere.

Oh. Maybe that was why.

Kurt hadn't been "out" anywhere in a long time. Every once in a blue moon, one of the Warblers, usually Jeff, his across-the-hall neighbor, would convince him to make an appearance at a bonfire the boys made in the back woods behind the school. But he would regret it almost instantly when he ended up sitting alone on the edge of a log, watching everyone talk.

But this was different. This was Blaine. He was different. Wasn't he?

As Kurt pulled into the parking lot, he just about turned right around and left.

But then he saw him. Blaine, sitting by the window, waiting for him. He had his head turned toward the inside, not seeing Kurt yet. He took a deep breath and ventured into the coffee shop.

From his inside view, Blaine looked perfect. His beautiful long lashes spread out over his cheeks as he looked down at the table, spinning a quarter between his fingers. Kurt noticed that his hair was not gelled back this time, allowing his naturally curly hair, though shorter than when they were children, to curl in small locks across his forehead. As soon as Blaine saw him, his entire face lit up like the Fourth of July.

"Kurt!" He said, moving to greet him. They stood awkwardly for a moment. What were they supposed to do? Shake hands? Hug? Instead, Blaine gestured toward the counter so they could order their coffees.

Oh right, that would make sense. It _was_ a coffee date after all.

No, not date. Kurt had to keep telling himself that. He was simply catching up with his old best friend Blaine. That was all.

"So, how was school?" Kurt asked awkwardly.

"Fine," Blaine said, advancing in the line, "I've got a test in English coming up this Friday and I am so not prepared for it."

"What's on the test?"

"It's on Hamlet. Puck just told me to rent the movie. Yeah, hi, I'll have a medium drip please. Thanks," he said to the pretty barista behind the counter.

"Oh don't do that!" Kurt squeaked. Blaine gave him a look. "I, mean about Hamlet. Don't just watch the movie. Hamlet is a wonderful story. I love Shakespeare. Besides, the movie version doesn't do it justice and it leaves out some really important scenes. Yes, I'll have a Grande nonfat mocha, thank you very much."

"Oh, well if _you_ say that it's good, maybe I will read it." Kurt blushed straight to his hairline, "What about you? How's school?"

"Fine too, I guess." He said, trying to be nonchalant, "I, too, have a test this week."

"What in?"

"Advanced Calculus."

Blaine almost dropped his cup in amazement, "Oh! So you're like, super smart then?"

"Why so shocked, Blaine?" he asked coyly.

"No, no, not shocked," he stuttered, "Just impressed… but not surprised."

"By the way," Kurt said as they headed back to the table, "I noticed your hair isn't gelled today."

"Oh yeah, well that was more or less an attempt to fit in at Dalton for the day."

"Good choice, there are a lot of guys there that use gel like their hair is going to fall off their head if they don't glue it down." Blaine laughed. "But I like it this way, the curly way. It- it suits you."

"Oh hey!" Blaine said, setting down his cup and digging his hand into his pocket, "I've got something for you."

Blaine quickly put his hands behind his back, grinning at Kurt expectantly.

"I don't get it."

"Pick a hand!"

Kurt gave him a quizzical look but pointed to Blaine's right hand. His smile widened even more, if that was even possible. "I knew you would pick that one."

Blaine pulled his right hand into Kurt's view, revealing what he held in his hand. It was a single red lollipop, cherry flavor. Kurt's eyes grew the size of saucers.

"Cherry," he murmured.

"Yeah, it's your favorite. I remember. And look," Blaine showed him his other hand. "And this one is grape, my-"

"Your favorite. I remember."

Blaine smiled at him as Kurt took the lollipop from him with a simple thank you. Blaine pulled off his leather jacket, hanging it over the back of the chair. Kurt practically gasped. This was the first time Kurt had seen Blaine in short sleeves in years. It was sinful. The way the light green fabric clung to his arm made Blaine's bicep look enormous and completely inviting.

_Not fair,_ Kurt thought.

As his eyes traveled down his arm, Kurt's breath hitched in his throat. There, on Blaine's right wrist was the golden beaded bracelet that Kurt had given him back when they were kids. His hand unconsciously moved to his left wrist where his blue bracelet burned through his blazer sleeve.

Blaine, noticing Kurt's obvious staring, cleared his throat. Kurt looked back up into his eyes, flushing bright red.

"Sorry!" he yelped.

"I never took it off, you know. The bracelet, I mean."

"You- you didn't?"

"No. Not once," Blaine said, looking fondly at the piece of jewelry on his wrist. "I guess it was just something to remember you by, a little piece of you that I got to hold on to… I- I'm sorry, that sounds dumb."

"No," Kurt interrupted, pulling up his blazer's sleeve to show his bracelet, "It doesn't."

To Kurt, the smile on Blaine's could have easily ended wars throughout the entire world. It was the purest, most genuine smile he had ever seen and just being in its glow set Kurt's heart into over drive.

_You know_, Kurt thought, _despite everything, I don't think today could be any better than this._


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt Hummel felt like he was floating. Not in a drug induced sort of way, as if he'd ever touch the stuff, but in a sort of bliss. It had been about three weeks since he and Blaine had found each other again. They made a habit of getting coffee after school almost every day. This was the first time Kurt had ever really had a social life and it was fun! Having had years of practice, he was able to keep up with his challenging courses rather easily, despite the fact that he was spending much less time on his homework.

That evening at Warblers rehearsal, Kurt walked in to set up for the meeting. As the other Warblers filed in, he greeted the few that actually bothered saying hello. Wes Montgomery took his seat next to him at the front of the room. Kurt was proudly the only junior member of the Warblers to have ever made it onto the council.

"Alright, everyone, settle down." Wes said with a bang of his gavel. "Unfortunately, fellow Warblers David Thompson and Thad Harwood cannot be here tonight, so this meeting will be run by Kurt Hummel and myself."

"Yes," Kurt added cheerfully, "today we discuss our set list for sectionals. We're up against some great schools this year so we must give it our all."

"Glad you've got such confidence in us, Kurt," Emmett spat from the back of the room.

"Easy," Wes warned.

"I know he is," Emmett Adams mumbled.

"Now, we have our opener more or less picked out with Kurt leading us through-" Wes continued.

"I still call bullshit on that," Collin grumbled from his place next to Emmett.

"-But we still have our eleven o' clock number to solidify."

"I think we should just let Kurt pick what song he wants to sing," Jeff said from the couch with a flashy grin. Several of the other Warblers made sounds of agreement.

"Whoa, wait, are you kidding?" Emmett protested, pushing off the wall. "This is bullshit!"

"Junior Warbler Emmett, you will watch your mouth during my session!" Wes snapped.

"No, this is garbage! Hummel shouldn't be the only one to ever get solos. We work just as hard as him and we never get any credit for it."

"But Kurt has led us to Nationals in past competitions," Nick added.

"Yeah?" Collin piped in. "But maybe one of us could too! I know I may just be the percussionist of this group, but I can do a lot more than the stuff you guys have me doing."

"We want recognition!" added Arthur, a freshman.

"So what are you saying, Emmett?"

"I'm saying that we're done being your backup singers. We want a chance to shine too!"

Emmett signaled to his friends. Collin started up on his always-impressive percussion, creating an intro for the other boys to sing over. The other Warblers began to harmonize with one another, joining in with a chorus of "ahh" and "jinga".

Taking his place at the front, Emmett began to sing:

_Come on, can't I dream for one day  
>There's nothing that can't be done<em>

Emmett advanced on Kurt, clearly trying to intimidate him and get his point across.

_But how long should it take somebody  
>Before they can be someone<em>

_Cause I know there's got to be another level  
>Somewhere closer to the other side<br>And I'm feeling like it's now or never  
>Can I break the spell of the typical, the typical<em>

_Ah._ Kurt thought. _Now I get it. "The Typical". He doesn't want to be the typical back-up singer with no glory. Cute._

Collin moved forward next, having Jon pick up where his beat boxing left of.

_I've lived through my share of misfortune  
>And I've worked in the blazing sun<br>But how long should it take somebody  
>Before they can be someone<em>

Huh. Well that was new. Kurt had no idea that Collin could sing or that Jon could beat box, for that matter.

_Can I break the spell of the typical, the typical, the typical  
><em>

Emmett stepped back up again, bringing in the bridge and singing with more passion and emotion than Kurt had ever seen.

_Because it's dragging me down  
>I'd like to know about when<br>When does it all turn around_

_Yeah I know there's got to be another level  
>Somewhere closer to the other side<br>And I'm feeling like it's now or never  
>Can I break the spell of the typical<em>

_The typical, the typical, uh huh  
>Of the typical <em>

_I'm just the typical_

The Warblers clapped loudly at the unexpected performance. The performers looked at Kurt expectantly.

"Well, that certainly was impressive," he said. "I wish you worked as hard on our _actual_ numbers as you did on that one."

"Why you fucking faggot!" Emmett lunged at Kurt. It took several members of the glee club to hold him back.

"Order! Order!" Wes shouted, banging his gavel, "Emmett, Dalton has no tolerance for that kind of language!"

"No. No, it's alright, Wes," Kurt interrupted, walking around the table to look up at the dark haired boy. The Warblers still held on tightly to his arms.

"Emmett, if you had let me finish I would have said that I have some thinking to do and that I would consider your proposal."

"Consider?" he spat. "That's hardly better than a flat out no."

"Look, Adams, I'm trying to be nice here. I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow's meeting."

"Uh, meeting adjourned," Wes blinked, watching Kurt storm from the room.

"Can you believe that?" Kurt was still fuming that afternoon in the Lima Bean. After leaving practice, Kurt had texted Blaine, asking him to meet earlier than they had planned. Blaine had eagerly accepted.

Kurt took a sip of his Grande nonfat mocha, enjoying the burn on the way down.

"Well, maybe you should listen to them?" Blaine said with a shrug.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No need to beg, Kurt," he said slyly. Kurt gave him a dead-pan look and Blaine cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uh, what I'm saying is, what's the harm in letting one of them take the spotlight?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, _Blaine_. Except for the fact that I've led them to victory before! Why change a good thing?"

"Well, maybe they could lead you to victory too?"

"Ugh! You sound just like them! Maybe you should meet _Emmett_ for coffee from now on!" Kurt growled, turning his body away from Blaine and crossing his arms defensively across his chest.

"Hey, don't be like that! I'm not saying that you should never have a solo ever again. That's the opposite of what I want. Hey, will you at least look at me?"

Kurt glanced sideways at him, still not turning to face him. Blaine looked at him pleadingly with those beautiful golden eyes.

_Damn him and his good looks,_ Kurt silently cursed.

"I'm simply saying that maybe you can make a compromise? You know, two solos and a duet or something? That might shut them up for a while?"

"That's actually not a bad idea…" Kurt sighed, turning back to him. Blaine smiled brightly.

"Hey ladies."

Blaine's expression changed from calm to a deer in headlights in a split second. Puck dragged a chair over to join their table. "What's shakin'?"

"Hey Puck," Blaine groaned. "Kurt, this is Puck. Puck, Kurt."

"Sup man?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Kurt stiffened.

"So, Anderson, I need your help with something."

"No, I'm not helping you sneak into the girl's locker room, Puck. We could get suspended."

"Eh, wouldn't be my first time. But listen, I need you to help me come up with a song to sing to Quinn."

"Quinn?" Blaine gawked.

"Yeah, dude. I really like her, but she won't give me the time of day anymore!"

"Well, you _did_ knock her up."

Kurt choked on his coffee, "Sorry…"

"But that was last year and I do actually care about her and stuff. So, I was thinking I could sing something to her, you know, guys in glee always do that sort of thing!"

"What did you have in mind?" Blaine asked skeptically.

"Well, I was thinking about doing _I'm Sexy And I Know It_. That way she'll finally realize how hot I am and she'll date me."

Kurt snorted.

"Can I help you with something, princess?" Puck snapped.

"Easy, Puck." Blaine warned.

"Singing a song like that will get you nowhere," Kurt explained. "Girls like songs with emotion and compassion, not sex."

"And _you_ would know this?"

"As an honorary girl, yes, I would," Kurt huffed.

"He's right, Puck," Blaine added. "Quinn isn't the type of girl who would go for a cheap trick like LFMAO."

"Alright, fine. So tell me, lady," he said turning to Kurt. "What sort of song did _you_ have in mind?"

Kurt smirked at him.

Sectionals came upon them quickly. Blaine sat in the audience with the New Directions, scanning the crowd for any sign of the Warblers. They would be going on last, after the Warblers had sung. The curtain opened and the third competitors, the Perry High Hell's Angels, took the stage. They danced around in matching red outfits to an upbeat number from the top forty hits list. It Blaine set on edge. He was worried that the New Directions hadn't rehearsed enough. This was Blaine's first competition after all. His hands started to sweat. It wasn't as if he had a solo or anything, he had his band for that. That and Rachel Berry would never let him have the spotlight, which bothered him a bit. Maybe that's what Kurt had been talking about…

Kurt. He was looking for Kurt.

"Blaine," called Finn, who was being pulled away by Rachel. "We have to get ready in the green room. Let's go!"

Blaine nodded with one last glance around the room. No luck. He would have to try to find him afterward. He followed Finn and the rest of the team backstage when a flash of blue and red by the side wing caught his eye.

"Hey, I'll meet up with you guys in a second, I forgot something." Blaine veered away from his team and headed to where he knew the Warblers would be assembling for their number. He searched the blazer-clad boys for the boy he found himself falling fo-

_Whoa. No, no, no, no, no. Blaine, you do_ not _go there, _he thought to himself.

And then he saw him. Standing behind the group of Warblers, Blaine saw a tall boy with chestnut hair, counting heads. As if he had heard his name, Kurt turned and looked directly at Blaine with a gorgeous, heart-stopping smile. Blaine smiled back weakly and turned away.

_Oh._

Maybe he did have a _little_ thing for Kurt. But it was to be expected, right? Blaine hadn't seen Kurt in years and now that he finally got to see him, strange feelings were bound to stir up, right? But he couldn't actually have a thing for Kurt; he was dating Brittany for Christ sake!

Brittany. The New Directions! He was supposed to be in the green room with them warming up. Blaine looked back at the Warblers to see that Kurt was still staring. Even from Blaine's distance, he could see the blush creep onto his pale skin. Blaine liked making Kurt blush.

Kurt mouthed a "Good luck" to Blaine from across the stage with another dazzling smile. Blaine's stomach suddenly became a new home for a million butterflies.

_Gotta learn to control that… _

Blaine wished Kurt luck as well and watched as the Warblers filed onto the stage.

The Warblers did very well in their performance, slightly rattling the cage of the New Directions. Just as Kurt had promised, he let three guys share a solo during one of their numbers. Their harmonizing talents were unbelievable. For the final number, Kurt rang true with an incredible finishing song that resulted in the entire room breaking into applause.

The lights flickered in the green room to let them know to take their places. The New Directions took their places on the stage. Blaine felt sick. He didn't know why he was so worried. His eyes scanned the massive group of people in the audience that had come to see them. There, in the middle of them all, was a small sea of blue and red blazers and there, in the dead center, was Kurt. He was looking right at him. All at once, his jitters vanished and the song began.

The New Directions performance was fantastic, the crowd rising to their feet as Rachel led them on with her jaw dropping vocals. As soon as the music ended, everyone headed off stage and hugged and laughed as they waited for the final verdict.

They didn't have to wait long and soon they were making their way back to the stage to hear the results. In third place were the Hell's Angels. The judge let the final result hang for added suspense before revealing that both the New Directions and The Warblers had won. The McKinley group jumped and screamed and celebrated, taking one of the enormous trophies and running off stage with it.

Blaine felt like he was on fire. He had never felt so good about something, not even soccer! But he worried. He knew how hard Kurt had been working with the Warblers and after taking Blaine's advice and letting someone else have the spotlight, they still had not totally won. Kurt was probably fuming…

"Blaine!" Blaine turned just in time to be tackled in a hug from Kurt. His heart dropped to his stomach and then shot right back up into his throat. "Congratulations!"

"You're not mad?" he said, his voice slightly higher than he wanted.

"Mad? No! It's a competition, Blaine, and we both made it to the next round!" Blaine smiled at him. That had always been one of Blaine's favorite things about Kurt; just when you thought he was going to zig, he zagged. "By the way, that lead singer of yours is really talented."

"Who, Rachel? Yeah she is, but don't let her hear you say that. Her head is big enough as it is."

"I heard that, Anderson. Don't make me set my boyfriend on you. He's twice your size." Rachel said joining them. Rachel reached out her hand for Kurt to shake. "Hi. I'm Rachel Berry; New Directions captain and future Broadway legend and star."

"Kurt; current Dalton Academy Warbler councilman, valedictorian, and future fashion icon."

"Oooh, I like this one, Blaine," she said, grabbing his arm. "Come on, the bus is leaving soon."

"I'll only be a minute, Rach," Blaine mumbled, never taking his eyes off Kurt.

"Okay, but if you make us late for our reservation at Breadstix, Santana _will_ murder you," she warned, skipping off.

"She's interesting." Kurt gawked at her retreating figure. "And she's _really_ dating someone?"

"You don't even know the half of it. Oh! Speaking of dating, Puck took your advice on singing to Quinn."

"Did he now?" Kurt smirked, crossing his arms approvingly, "He's smarter than he looks. What song did he end up going with?"

"_Just The Way You Are_, the Boyce Avenue version."

"Good choice. Girls love that song, no matter what."

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Blaine asked, "Same time, same place?"

"Oh, sorry, I can't tomorrow. I have a huge Advanced Chemistry exam that I have to study for."

"Wow, Advanced Chemistry _and_ Advanced Calculus. Okay, well how about we meet up this weekend then? It would be nice to get out of the house and you out of those dorms, right?"

"Yo, Anderson! The bus is leaving," Puck bellowed from the stage door, "Get your ass over here and help me carry this god dammed trophy!"

"Saturday morning?" Kurt said hopefully.

"Saturday morning."

**The song I used in this chapter is called **_**Typical**_**, originally done by Mute Math. But, the version I used was by the Tufts Beelzebubs. For those of you who don't know, they are an all acapella group at Tufts University in Massachusetts. They are also the actual voices of the Warblers from Glee (aside from the people with the solos and what not, but you know what I mean). They're fantastic and I encourage you to look them up on iTunes or whatever media Brower you use because their music is just phenomenal and I personally listen to them on a regular basis…**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it! **


	10. Chapter 10

Saturday took far too long to arrive and once it did, Kurt found himself a few minutes early as he sat and waited for Blaine. He walked up to the barista who by now knew him by name, her long brown hair, tied up in a ponytail for work.

"Hey, Shauna," he greeted.

"Hello, Kurt," she beamed, her bright sea foam eyes twinkling at the sight of him. "What are you doing here on a Saturday?"

"Can you guess?" He chided with a blush.

"You mean short, dark, and handsome asked you here on a weekend?"

"Yes," he laughed.

"_Please_ tell me he's asked you out. Or you've asked _him_ out. Please? Something?" Shauna exclaimed.

"No! Shauna!" Kurt blushed embarrassed, "No! It's not like that!"

"Boy, please, I've watched you two come in here for weeks now and I don't think I have _ever_ seen two people flirt as much as you do."

Kurt opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it. Had Blaine actually been flirting with him?

"Besides, I don't even know if he's _gay_, Shauna. How could you know if he's flirting with me?"

"Well, there's one way to find out," she said menacingly, nodding over Kurt's shoulder.

He turned to see Blaine entering the coffee shop, clearly scanning the tables for Kurt. When their eyes met, his entire face lit up.

"Yeah, totally platonic right there," Shauna whispered.

"I hate you."

"Hi, Blaine!" she called over enthusiastically.

_Smooth, Shauna…_ Kurt internally grumbled.

"Hey, how's it going, Shauna?"

"Oh, it's grand. The usual."

"Good to hear. Hey, Kurt. Sorry, I'm late," he said, putting his hand on his arm. Kurt's face turned eight different shades of red. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Oh, no you're fine," he squeaked, angry at his voice for coming out higher than he wanted. "I just got here too and I've been talking to Shauna anyway."

"What can I get you guys?" Shauna asked. "Blaine?"

"Uh, a medium drip for me, a Grande nonfat mocha for this guy and maybe I can coax him to actually share a chocolate chip muffin with me?"

"Sure thing. That'll be seven fifty even," she told them with a stifled laugh.

"You- you know my coffee order," Kurt gawked, ignoring her.

"Of course I do," Blaine scoffed, handing Shauna a ten-dollar bill, "And, stop that, Kurt. Put that money away. I've got this one. Keep the change, Shauna."

Blaine walked off to the side to wait for their orders.

Shauna slowly turned her head to Kurt, pressing her lips together to keep from bursting with laughter.

"Don't!" Kurt warned with a smile. "Don't you even dare."

"I didn't say a thing," she snickered.

"Goodbye, Shauna," he called over his shoulder.

When Kurt and Blaine finally got their coffees they sat in their usual spot by the window.

"So how are the Warblers taking the loss?" Blaine asked carefully.

"Alright, I guess," Kurt said absently, stirring his coffee. "Some of the guys aren't taking it so well. They blame me, of course."

"_You?_ Why? If it were up to you, you would have had all the solos! No offense."

"None taken. But it was also my decision to actually give the other guys a chance. So naturally, I'm their scapegoat."

"That's ridiculous," Blaine said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

"Tell me about it." Kurt sighed, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his head on his hands.

"Hey," Blaine said, reaching across the table to touch Kurt's arm tenderly. "It will be alright."

"I guess. Sometimes I just wish I could switch schools for a while, you know?"

"Then why don't you?"

"Yeah, okay," Kurt joked.

"No, really," Blaine pressed, "You should swap schools for a bit. There's this thing that we do at McKinley with surrounding schools where a student from our school switches places with a student from your school. It's supposed to teach underprivileged schools about higher upper class education or something. But I know there's a kid in my glee club that has wanted to do it for some time now. Now might be the right time."

"That sounds too good to be true," Kurt sighed.

"But it's not! You should really think about it, Kurt. It'd be nice to see you outside of the Lima Bean for once."

Kurt looked at him and he felt his heart warm. Blaine really was a wonderful guy. Maybe if Kurt was lucky enough, Blaine might think Kurt was wonderful too. And if they were both wonderful, what was going to keep them from being wonderful together? Together… with Blaine.

"Blaine, I-"

"Blainey bear!"

The boys turned around in surprise at the sudden shriek. Entering the Lima Bean was a group of girls in red cheerleading uniforms. One of them, a blonde, broke free of the group and bounced towards them. Her eyes shined deep blue as she smiled at Blaine with an award-winning smile. In Kurt's opinion, she was actually very pretty. He was gay, not blind.

"Brittany?" Blaine squeaked nervously.

"Brittany?" Kurt asked.

Brittany waltzed up to Blaine, pulling him in for kiss that, in Blaine's opinion, was far too passionate for public. She ran her fingers through Blaine's hair, asking for more. Kurt gawked at them, feeling tears prickling the corner of his eye. He took a sip of his coffee instead.

"Blainey bear, what are you doing here?" she said, releasing him and climbing onto his lap. Both he and Kurt blushed.

"I uh, I was having coffee with my friend, Kurt. He's one of the Dalton Academy Warblers," Blaine said, gesturing to Kurt who waved awkwardly.

"Oh," She turned in his lap and looked directly at Kurt. "What's it like to fly?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You don't look like you have any feathers, though."

"Feathers?" Kurt blinked.

"Blaine, I thought you told me birds have feathers?"

"Britt, no, he's not a bird," Blaine tried to explain. "The Warblers is just the name of their glee club. Just like we're called the New Directions."

"But our name actually makes sense, silly. I've seen your Nude Erections plenty of times!"

Kurt spit out his coffee across the table, almost hitting Blaine and Brittany. To Blaine, it suddenly felt like all of the air had left the room. His face flushed a deep scarlet color, unable to speak. Brittany looked over toward her friends, seeming to not notice the awkward air she had created.

"I think one of the girls is trying to contact me telepathically. I'd better get back. Bye, Blainey. Bye, bye, Birdie," she said with a wave, leaving the two boys in an incredibly awkward silence.

Kurt couldn't look at Blaine. What the _fuck_ was that? Who _was_ that girl and why had she _attacked_ Blaine's face? His Blaine! His Blaine who he may or may not have feelings for. What gave _her_ the right to-

"Kurt I-"

"What the _fuck_ was that?"

Blaine blinked at him, taken back. "What?"

"You heard me," Kurt said, wrapping his arms around himself defensively.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't know she was going to be here."

"Who the _fuck was_ that, Blaine?"

"Hey, easy on the language!" Blaine scolded, looking around at the staring eyes from the other tables. "That was Brittany Pierce. My, uh, girlfriend."

Kurt's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Girlfriend? No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It couldn't be true. It wasn't fair! It couldn't be. Blaine, his Blaine, had a girlfriend. And a pretty, blonde cheerleader at that. Kurt composed himself quickly, plastering on a well-practiced smile.

"Oh, well that's a different," he said, internally cursing the way his voice cracked.

"You're not mad?" Blaine said warily.

He smiled at him, though it did not touch his eyes.

"No. She's uh, she's lovely. How long have you been dating?"

"She's alright," Blaine sighed, looking away. "To be honest, she's really slow."

_You think?_ Kurt growled.

"Look, it's getting late. I've got to go if I want to catch my dad at a good time."

"You're actually going to ask your dad about the community wide dialogue?"

"Yeah, I'll ask. I'll see you later, Blaine." With that, Kurt stood and left in a hurry from the Lima Bean.

"You know, Kurt, that's not a terrible idea," Burt Hummel said from underneath a 1967 Chevy.

"Dad, you can't be serious," Kurt scoffed, carefully leaning on Burt's tool bench as he rubbed his still slightly reddened eyes. Kurt had gone straight from the Lima Bean to his father's garage, just as he'd promised. He was still upset with Blaine from the encounter they had had with Brittany that morning. How could he not have told him about her? They were supposed to be friends. Why would Blaine lead him on like that?

_Maybe because he wasn't leading you on…_

_Shut up, logic. No one needs you._

Kurt introduced the idea of the community wide dialogue to his father, knowing all too well how the conversation would go. What Kurt wasn't counting on was Burt actually taking to the idea. "It's the same school you told me that I was never allowed to go back to. The same one you pulled me out of four years ago!"

"Well, you're much bigger now, Kurt," Burt said, sliding halfway out from under the car to look at his son. "I think you can take care of yourself. From what I gather, it wouldn't be forever, just a short amount of time, right? It might do you some good."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Kurt mumbled, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"And besides, it might be nice to have you home for a while. Hand me that wrench, will you?"

Kurt turned, picking up the tool he knew his father was talking about. He may not have been fond of it, but Kurt knew how to work on a car if need be. Burt thanked him with a kind smile, sliding back under the car. Kurt _did_ feel a little bad about not being home. Ever. He was always working on something for the Warblers or studying for something. He never had time to go home. Come to think of it, he hadn't been home since the semester started. And he _would_ get to see Blaine every day. Blaine and Brittany. But Kurt could tell that Blaine was not into their relationship the way he should have been. Kurt was sure his senses were not leading him astray.

"You know, dad, maybe this program could be a good thing after all?"

"Yeah?" he called from underneath the car.

"Yeah."

"Great! I'll work on the paperwork once I'm done in here. I could have you in there in two weeks or so if we get right on it."

This was it then. He was going to do it. He was going to temporarily transfer schools. For Blaine. Even though he had a girlfriend. Even though he would probably never feel the same way as Kurt did. He was going. He really was insane wasn't he?

_Everybody go  
>The party's over<br>I want to be alone in my head  
>In my bed tonight<br>You never show_

_You must really love her  
>You think I don't know<br>But I do, yeah it's true  
>I think over is over<br>_

Kurt made his way back to Dalton that afternoon, singing with everything he had.

_I'm right back where I started  
>(when it comes to wanting you) <em>

Kurt realized how true that was; because this wasn't the first time he had had these feelings towards Blaine. He had felt the same since that first day on the playground.

_I can't have what I wanted_

_But I did, I can  
>I was, I am<br>Only human, living, dying  
>Just like any fool who ever breathed<br>If love is blind  
>If love's a drug<br>It always is  
>It always was and<br>Love was surely made for fools like me_

_I know where I'm going  
>I'm tripping I'm sliding around<br>That's ok _

Kurt danced around his room as he sang, feeling like a lovesick schoolgirl. Well, he supposed he wasn't too far off. He spun around on his heel with a grin.

_At least I'm excited  
>It wasn't how I planned it<br>(wasn't how I planned it)  
>Feet are where I landed<br>(At least I understand it now) _

_I did, I can  
>I was, I am<br>Only human, living, dying  
>Just like any fool who ever breathed<em>

_Maybe it's the sanest thing  
>Or just the sweetest kind of dream<br>But love was surely made for fools  
>(Love was surely made for fools)<br>Love was surely made for fools like me_

**Ta-da! Chapter ten! The song I used was called **_**Fools Like Me**_** by Lisa Loeb.**

**The Shauna at the beginning of the chapter is **_**totally**_** not a shout out to my beautiful and perfect Beta. Nope. Not true.**

**Anyway, the community wide dialogue thing is actually a thing; I'm not just pulling that out of my ass. I don't know if your schools had anything like that, but mine did. Sure, I tweaked it a little bit to make it work, but I promise it's a real thing.**


	11. Chapter 11

Blaine stood outside the gates to Dalton Academy, looking up at the high iron bars, trying to decide if he should go in. Kurt hadn't really spoken to him since Saturday except for one response to his texts. What he had been able to get out of Kurt was that he had talked to his father about the community wide dialogue program.

_(9:56am) To Kurt:_

_Hey, so how'd it go with your dad? :)_

_(11:34am) To Kurt:_

_Hellooooo? :P _

_(1:15pm) To Kurt:_

_Kurt?_

_(8:14pm) To Kurt:_

_Oh, okay. Fine, don't respond then._

_(8:21pm) From Kurt:_

_What._

_(8:22pm) To Kurt:_

_There you are! Where the hell have you been?_

_(8:25pm) From Kurt:_

_Sorry, mom. I wasn't aware that I had an obligation to contact you every thirty minutes._

_(8:27pm) To Kurt:_

_Whoa. Hostile much?_

_(8:28pm) From Kurt:_

_What do you want, Blaine?_

_(8:32pm) To Kurt:_

_I wanted ask you how it went with your dad? What he thought of the program? But I can see that you're pissed at me for some reason so never mind._

_(9:02pm) From Kurt:_

_I start at McKinley in two weeks…_

It was now Friday and other than that one conversation, Blaine had not heard from Kurt at all. The lack of communication was driving him _crazy_. He hadn't realized just how much he relied on Kurt these days.

Blaine pushed open the giant gates, entering the grounds. He was going to find Kurt. He was going to set this thing right. He couldn't stand that Kurt was mad at him, though he wasn't sure why. What had he done?

_You know what, Blaine_, he thought.

He thought back to last Saturday. Everything had been going so well, until Brittany had showed up and attacked his face. Blaine didn't think he could ever unsee the look Kurt gave him. What was that look? Betrayal? Hurt? Jealousy?

Blaine slid through the grand front doors and headed for the main staircase in search of Kurt. Suddenly, his ears filled with a familiar voice accompanied by strange music. He followed the sound down the hall to what Blaine remembered as the senior commons.

_Holding my breath  
>For a whole month<em>

Blaine peered around the threshold to find the Warblers practicing another song. The boys were spread out around the room in a haphazard sort of way. Kurt was once again in the center of it all, his high but alluring voice taking the lead of the song.

Kurt spun on his toes, stopping in front of a boy with bleach blonde hair on the tops but dirty blonde on the bottom, pulling him by his lapels to bring his closer.

_If I held your breath  
>At least we would touch<em>

The blonde smiled widely, pushing him lightly to send Kurt on to his next victim. He motioned for two more boys to fall into step with him, grooving their shoulders together with a well-practiced accuracy.

_Oh Girl it's true  
>I can never be away from you<br>It's like you gloss your lips with glue  
>Oh we kiss and I am stuck to you<br>_

Kurt, eyeing his new target, made a beeline for a short boy with straight dark hair. He circled him with a look that made Blaine's knees go weak even from where he was standing. Imagine being the focus of all that? That stare, those hips, that smile. Blaine shuddered.

_My hearts on the floor  
>My feet feel like lead<br>I'd quit the tour  
>But I'm already dead<br>_

Two boys from the couch made a menacing sound that got the whole group on their feet, ready to dance.

_We lock lips  
>And throw the key out<br>Til it slips that  
>I must leave town<em>

_Oh Girl it's true  
>I can never be away from you<br>It's like you gloss your lips with glue  
>Oh we kiss and I am stuck to you<em>

"Good work, guys. That will be all for tonight," Kurt said, slightly out of breath. "Emmett, would you _please_ stop trying to make Collin laugh during the song. We need his percussion to be flawless for Regionals and you making faces and crude gestures is not going to help any of us."

"Fuck you, Hummel," Emmett growled.

"Mmm, yes, you'd like that wouldn't you," Kurt quipped with a roll of his eyes, turning to the table to go over his notes from the meeting one more time.

"Bite me," he spat, stalking out of the common room with Collin hot on his heels.

"Again, you wish."

"Nice comeback." Kurt turned to see Blaine standing in the doorway with a smirk.

"Blaine! What are you doing here?"

"Who were they?" he asked, ignoring Kurt's question. "Some of your many admirers?"

"Emmett Adams and Collin Able. 'The A Team' as they call themselves. Rich, arrogant douchebags, you know? What are you doing here?"

"Spying on you again," Blaine responded matter-of-factly.

"You have to stop doing that," he said, turning back to his work. "We're competing against one another."

"Not right now we're not. Are you still mad at me?"

Kurt turned to face him. No, no he wasn't. He realized he might have over reacted just a bit and had had enough time to cool off. Blaine wasn't trying to hurt his feelings after all. He had no idea that Kurt had developed feelings for him.

Kurt smiled faintly at Blaine who returned it with one twice as bright. He knew that they would be alright.

"Kurt," David said coming up behind them and trying to take the papers from Kurt's hand. Kurt held them out of his reach. "You should get some rest. We can take it from here."

"No, I'm fine, David," Kurt sighed, not even bothering to turn around.

"Come on, Kurt," Jeff, the blonde from before, whined. "We're all going break into the kitchen to make s'mores over the stovetop."

"No, really, Jeff, I'm okay." Kurt whipped around. The few remaining Warblers looked at him with what Kurt saw as expectant expressions. "I'm just going to finalize some of the choreography and work on my vocals on the bridge."

"Keep up the good work, Kurt," Wes shrugged as he ushered the rest of the Warblers out the door.

Blaine stood looking around at the now empty common room. "You know what? We need to get you out of here."

"Blaine, what are you talking about?" Kurt said, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"You need to get out, Kurt! There's so much you've missed out on!"

"I haven't missed anything-"

"Yes you have! Friends, excitement, parties. Have you ever even been to a party?"

"I have friends!" Kurt shouted.

"No, Kurt, you have teammates and followers. They're not really friends. Have you ever hung out with David outside of school? Have you ever had Jeff over during a holiday break? When was the last time you had fun, Kurt?" Blaine exclaimed.

Kurt said nothing. He could feel tears brimming, but not from sadness, from anger. He was mad at himself, not at Blaine. How could he be mad at Blaine? He was absolutely right. Kurt didn't have any real friends. Sure, David, Jeff, and the others would join in on study groups on occasion and the Warblers, except for Emmett and Collin, were always quick to back him up on a song idea, but none of them ever actually hung out with him for fun.

Fun. When _was_ the last time Kurt had had fun?

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Blaine spoke again. "What are you doing tonight?"

Kurt was torn from his deep thought. "What?"

"Tonight. What are you doing? It's Friday. You don't have class tomorrow, so you can't use the 'studying' excuse. Come on, Kurt, let's go somewhere."

Kurt blushed. "Oh, Blaine, I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Come on, live a little. This place," he said gesturing wildly to the room around them. "has turned you cold. You're a blank pallet with no emotion. You're so bottled up inside because you're trying so hard to be what everyone wants you to be, this perfect boy without a flaw. But I know you better. The boy I knew would never have let himself turn into this."

Kurt got up from the table and turned away from him. He couldn't have Blaine see him with tears in his eyes.

"I'm not that boy anymore, Blaine," he choked. "You don't know who I am now."

Blaine stood behind Kurt, leaning close to his ear, his voice barely a whisper. "Then show me."

"This place is so loud." Kurt said, practically clinging to the back of Blaine's shirt.

"It's a dance club, Kurt. What did you expect?" Blaine laughed.

The club was bigger than Kurt had pictured, a large, open room with an indoor balcony. Along one wall was a bar that stretched from one side of the room to the other. There were lights everywhere, from multicolored dance lights to strobes and even a disco ball way overhead that cast a twinkle onto the dance floor. A raised stage held the DJ and a few obviously drunk guys dancing like one of those blowup men you see at car dealerships. The place was packed with people bumping and grinding to the booming techno music.

Kurt stood rigid. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Blaine turned around in Kurt's vice grip. He smiled up at him. Even when he was out of his element, Kurt still knew how to stand out in all the best ways. He had worn a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up just past the elbows and a necklace of shiny keys around his neck. He had on what appeared to be black riding boots that stopped at the knee. But worst of all were his black skinny jeans that clung to him in ways that made Blaine blush every shade of red. Coming to terms with his feelings for Kurt could potentially be problematic. Realizing he had been staring, Blaine quickly turned to look around the room.

But of course this didn't get past Kurt.

"I know, I know. I get it." Kurt sighed.

Blaine whipped around, eyes wide as his blush deepened. "What?"

"You told me to dress more simply. I should have listened. I just wasn't expecting all of this." He gestured toward the crowed dance hall. "I must look so foolish."

"Impossible. You could never look anything less than perfect, Kurt." Oh. Was that too much?

But Kurt smiled and changed the subject from himself. "But you look good."

Blaine looked down at himself. He wore a tight fitting white v-neck and dark blue jeans with a pair of his favorite brown shoes. Nothing special. But Kurt had liked it, so it must be good for something.

"Come on," Blaine smiled, taking Kurt's hand. "Let's dance."

Blaine ushered Kurt into the massive pit of bodies until they found an opening big enough for the two of them. _In Her Eyes_ by Basshunter blasted through the speakers, bass pumping in their chests.

Blaine released Kurt's hand and began to move to the music. Kurt watched him as he danced; fist pumping, hips swaying, eyes shut tight, pursed lips, hips swaying, brow knit… hips swaying. Suddenly Kurt was glad that Blaine's eyes were closed because he was sure that he had been focusing on the other boy's lower half for longer than was deemed appropriate. He crossed his arms and decided to look elsewhere to try to keep from staring at the maniac in front of him.

There were all sorts of people in the club. There even seemed to be boys he knew from school, which worried him a bit. This was not the sort of place Kurt would want his peers to see him frequenting.

"Hey."

Kurt turned his attention back to Blaine who danced a little closer with a curious look on his face.

"Hey, yourself," Kurt nodded to him.

"Why aren't you dancing?"

"I told you that I couldn't really dance."

Blaine stared at him waiting for the inevitable punch line. But none came.

"You're kidding right?" Blaine stopped dancing altogether and stepped even closer so that Kurt could hear him over the pounding music. "I've seen you dance. Like that time I saw you and the Warblers do _Fever_? That was-" Blaine stopped himself before he could say _'the sexiest thing I have ever seen.' _

"I guess I'll just have to teach you."

Kurt looked unconvinced. As if on cue, the song changed to _Moves Like Jagger_ by Maroon 5.

Blaine smiled as he started to sing along.

_Just shoot for the stars  
>If it feels right<br>And aim for my heart  
>If you feel like<br>Can take me away and make it okay  
>I swear I'll behave<br>_

But what Blaine did was far from behaving. Blaine moved slowly closer to Kurt, staring him directly in the eyes. With each word he sung, it seemed as if his honey colored eyes got darker and darker with this sort of lust that Kurt could hardly understand. What scared Kurt the most was that he _liked_ it.

_You wanted control  
>So we waited<br>I put on a show  
>Now I make it<br>You say I'm a kid  
>My ego is big<br>I don't give a shit  
>And it goes like this<em>

Blaine grabbed Kurt by the waist and pulled him flush against his chest. Kurt's leg was between Blaine's thighs as Blaine moved his hips forward and back, creating a rhythm. Kurt went stiff at the closeness.

_Take me by the tongue  
>And I'll know you<br>Kiss me 'til you're drunk  
>And I'll show you<em>

_All the moves like Jagger  
>I've got the moves like Jagger<br>I've got the moves like Jagger_

No one had ever touched Kurt like this before, it was foreign and different and… oh so wonderful. The way Blaine used his hands to guide him and swayed his well-practiced hips made Kurt's face burn red-hot.

_I don't need to try to control you  
>Look into my eyes and I'll own you<br>_

Suddenly Blaine took Kurt's hand and released him from the close contact. He spun him dramatically, then pulled him back in, making their chests collide again. Blaine kept Kurt's hand in his as he danced with him in a sort of modern tango from _Dirty Dancing._

_You with them moves like Jagger  
>I've got the moves like Jagger<br>I've got the moves like Jagger  
><em>

Blaine let go of Kurt all together, making him stand alone. Kurt crossed his arms and watched as Blaine circled him, never taking his eyes off of him.

_Baby it's hard  
>When it feels like you're broken and scarred<br>Nothing feels right  
>But when you're with me<br>I make you believe  
>That I've got the key<br>_

At those words Blaine flicked at Kurt's necklace, causing the taller boy to laugh in spite of himself.

_So get in the car  
>We can ride it<br>Wherever you want  
>Get inside it<br>And you want to steer  
>But I'm shifting gear<br>I'll take it from here  
>And it goes like this<em>

_Take me by the tongue  
>And I'll know you<br>Kiss me 'til you're drunk  
>And I'll show you<br>_

_All them moves like Jagger  
>I've got the moves like Jagger<br>I've got the moves like Jagger  
><em>

Blaine let go of Kurt again and gestured for him to take up the bridge of the song. Kurt blushed and stood unmoving, but joined in despite himself.

_You want to know how to make me smile  
>Take control, own me just for the night<em>

He closed his eyes and slowly got into the music as he sang. It was just something that the music did to him.

_But if I share my secret  
>You're gonna have to keep it<br>Nobody else can see this_

Kurt tugged at his hair, opening his eyes and staring at an awestruck Blaine. Kurt smirked and moved over towards him.

_So watch and learn  
>I won't show you twice<br>Head to toe, ooh baby, rub me right_

At this, Kurt ran a hand across Blaine's back as he circled him. Blaine shuddered, eyes nearly black.

_But if I share my secret  
>You're gonna have to keep it<br>Nobody else can see this_

_And it goes like this  
><em>

This time when Blaine reached for Kurt, he welcomed it; succumbing to the thumping music and all too seductive boy he was dancing with. Their hips moved easily together as Blaine sang into Kurt's ear, causing him to shiver.

_Take me by the tongue  
>And I'll know you<br>Kiss me 'til you're drunk  
>And I'll show you<em>

_All the moves like Jagger  
>I've got the moves like Jagger<br>I've got the moves like Jagger_

_I don't need to try to control you  
>Look into my eyes and I'll own you<em>

_With them moves like Jagger  
>I've got the moves like Jagger<br>I've got the moves like Jagger_

The song ended with the two boys panting against each other, their foreheads nearly touching. Blaine smiled at Kurt.

"I think you're learning," he said.

"So are you."

Blaine blinked. What did he mean by that? Was he implying something? Was he implying that Blaine had accepted his feelings towards the other boy? No. It couldn't be.

Kurt stepped back from Blaine and started to fan himself with his hands. Kurt looked like a hot mess. Like, a _hot_ mess. His usually immaculate hair was sticking out like he had "sex hair"; his shirt and jeans clung to him with sweat. Blaine caught himself staring again.

Got to stop doing that.

"Do- do you want some water?" Blaine asked, forcing himself to look elsewhere.

"Yeah sure, that'd be great. I'll save our spot here."

Blaine nodded and scurried off toward the bar.

Kurt's head was spinning. That had been such a rush. Blaine had to be one of the best dancers on the planet. His hips worked like they were born to move.

"Hey," came a voice from behind.

"Well that was fast," Kurt said, turning.

But it was not Blaine he found. A strange guy stood looking Kurt up and down. He was taller than Kurt, but not by much. He had sandy blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. His green polo left nothing to the imagination, showing off his well-toned chest. To put it lightly, the man looked like a Greek god.

"I saw you dancing. That was pretty good."

"Oh, no. I can't dance."

The guy stepped closer, invading Kurt's space. "I could teach you how to dance. I could teach you a lot of things."

"Oh, no. I'm fine, thanks."

The guy laughed, fixing a piece of Kurt's hair out of his face. "That's cute. What's your name?"

"I- uh…"

"Kurt!"

He turned to see Blaine holding a bottle of water, staring at the two of them. "There you are. I've been looking for you forever." He reached for Kurt with his free hand, pulling him away from the blonde Adonis.

"Excuse me, I was talking to him," Adonis bellowed.

"And now you're not," Blaine snapped defensively. "So if you're done wasting our space and wasting our time, you can go now."

"Hey, calm down, dude." Adonis said, advancing on the smaller boy. "What if I don't want to?"

"Then I'll have two choices. I can either a, kick the ever-living shit out of you or b, ask you once last time to back the _fuck_ off. And guess what, that one last time was just now."

The Adonis glared at them but left without another word.

"Blaine, that was rude. He was just talking to me."

"No, Kurt, he was just _hitting on_ you."

Kurt blinked. Oh. Well that was a first.

"Here's your water," Blaine said, handing him the bottle as Kurt thanked him.

"Come on, let's dance some more," Blaine smiled, taking Kurt's free hand.

Blaine quickly got into the song playing overhead, trying to make Kurt twirl with him but Kurt was having none of it. His arms remained lifeless and he was out of step. His face twisted into an odd expression that Blaine couldn't begin to decipher.

"What's the matter, Kurt?"

"Blaine, I can't dance. I told you already."

"Bullshit. Kurt, I saw you dance just ten minutes ago! I know you can!"

"No- Blaine- I don't know what that was. I've never done that before. I just-. I can't dance."

"I've seen you! When you sing with the Warblers, it's as if you're whole different person! Where is _that_ Kurt hiding?"

"I don't know!" Kurt snapped. "I guess I can only dance when I'm singing!"

"Oh," Blaine said with a smirk. "Well, we can fix that."

Just like that, the song ended and changed to Lady Gaga.

Kurt's weakness.

_Let's have some fun,  
>This beat is sick<br>I wanna take a ride on your disco stick_

_Let's have some fun,  
>This beat is sick<br>I wanna take a ride on your disco stick_

"Sing to me, Kurt."

Kurt closed his eyes.

_Huh!_

His eyes shot open, gleaming at Blaine with a newfound strength. The look he gave Blaine sent a spark down his spine. Blaine couldn't take his eyes off him.

_I wanna kiss you_

Kurt advanced on Blaine, gripping him by the collar and pulling him in.

_But if I do then I might miss you babe_

Teasing, Kurt released Blaine and turned away. Blaine's heart sputtered. Kurt then turned on a dime, making his way back to Blaine.

_It's complicated and stupid  
>Got my ass squeezed by sexy Cupid<br>Guess he wants to play,  
>Wants to play<br>A love game  
>A love game<em>

Kurt, gaining a little confidence, grabbed Blaine by the waist and pulled him closer. He tried to follow what Blaine had been doing before, swaying his hips to guide the other boy, but Kurt couldn't bring himself to infringe on too much personal space, leaving several awkward inches in between them.

_Hold me and love me  
>Just want to touch you for a minute<br>Maybe three seconds is enough for my heart to quit it  
>Let's have some fun,<br>This beat is sick  
>I wanna take a ride on your disco stick<br>Don't think too much just bust that kick  
>I wanna take a ride on your disco stick<br>_

Kurt's heart pounded with uncertainty. This was completely new for him. Sure, he knew how to sell a song, but with twelve guys backing him up! How could he pull this off alone?

But the reaction he was getting from Blaine seemed pretty positive. His eyes were wide with fire as he followed every movement of Kurt's body. His head was low and close to Kurt's.

_Let's play a love game,  
>Play a love game<br>Do you want love or you want fame?  
>Are you in the game?<br>Dans le love game?  
><em>

Just as Blaine had done, Kurt broke away from their contact, turning over his shoulder to look at Blaine. The look on his face was hard to read; somewhere between longing and lust. Kurt smirked. Maybe he was better at this than he thought.

Kurt made his way back over to Blaine, standing very close to him as he sang the bridge.

_Hold me and love me  
>Just want to touch you for a minute<br>Maybe three seconds is enough for my heart to quit it  
>Let's have some fun,<br>This beat is sick  
>I wanna take a ride on your disco stick<br>Don't think too much just bust that kick  
>I wanna take a ride on your disco stick<br>_

Just as Kurt was about to move in close again, Blaine pulled Kurt's hip to him. But Kurt wanted to try something different that he has seen around the club. Kurt turned in Blaine's hold, causing them to dance front to back. Kurt moved Blaine's hands so that they were just below his waist. And then Blaine did something that Kurt never would have expected. He groaned. He actually _groaned_.

_Let's play a love game,  
>Play a love game<br>Do you want love or you want fame?  
>Are you in the game?<br>Dans le love game?  
><em>

Another song faded in as Lady Gaga's voice trailed away.

Kurt stepped forward, nearly knocking over Blaine who was leaning heavily on him. Kurt smiled smugly down at him.

"That was uh," Blaine stammered. "Very good. Very good. Uh, well done."

"Thank you. You seemed to enjoy it." Kurt raised a judging brow.

Blaine blushed deep red. "Oh well, yeah. You know, Brittany has always been good at that sort of thing. It, uh, reminded me of her…" he explained, almost a question.

Kurt's smile faltered. He crossed his arms defensively out of habit.

"Oh. I see."

"But I think you could hold your own if you so wished." Blaine looked to the floor. "I'll bet you could bring your boyfriend here or something. I bet he'd love it."

"Boyfriend," Kurt sighed.

Blaine frowned, he didn't like where this conversation had gone. Kurt's defensive wall was back up. He moved closer to the taller boy and looked in his eyes, searching. Those ocean blue eyes finally met his and Blaine's heart took flight.

What was it about him? How did he make him feel that way? _Why_ did he make him feel this way? Blaine couldn't remember a time when he had felt the same, about anyone.

But he knew he was lying to himself. He knew of a time, many years ago. A time filled with laughter on swing sets, fashionable bowties, Disney movie marathons on rainy days in the Hummel's living room, and hot chocolate with two big marshmallows that covered the whole surface.

Blaine had felt this feeling every time he had looked at Kurt from the moment they met on that playground all those years ago. And the feeling had only grown stronger with age. _Could_ this be love? Blaine couldn't let himself find out, not with everything in his life; with school, the Bubbs, Puck, Finn, and Brittany, there was no way he could ever let it be.

But Kurt looked into his eyes with this sort of determination and understanding, though Blaine had told him nothing.

Blaine smiled at him.

"Come on, Kurt," he said taking his hand again. "The night is young. Let's dance."

The ride back to Dalton was comfortable and light. They had stayed at the club for hours, dancing along to the thumping beats. It wasn't until Kurt's feet began to get tired that they realized just how late it had gotten and that Kurt was way past curfew.

"I still can't believe you're in a band," Kurt gawked. "That was so unlike you when we were kids."

"Well like I said, my parents wanted me to channel my frustration into something productive, so I picked up a guitar and I haven't put it down since. It can be really relaxing."

"What kind of music do you and, what was his name, Noah, play?"

"Mainly rock and pop punk, but we switch it up a bit from time to time." Blaine blushed. "I could play for you some time if you'd like?"

"That would actually be really cool, I'd like that."

Blaine's face lit up. They pulled up to the school in silence, content with their time together.

"Well, Blaine, I have to say, this has been a really fun time."

"I need to know more about you," Blaine said suddenly.

Kurt stared at him, not sure how to respond.

"I'm sorry. I- I just feel like there is so much I've missed too, Kurt. So much about you. I've- I've really missed you, Kurt."

"I've missed you, too," Kurt said, more to himself than to Blaine. "I should probably go." Kurt pushed the car door open quickly.

"Kurt, wait!" Blaine called, leaning over to catch Kurt's wrist.

"Yes?" Kurt blinked, his eyes wide.

"I, uh, I," he sighed. "Would you, want to get coffee tomorrow? I-I'm so sorry for the way our last one ended and I- I promise that Brittany won't be there this time. Please?"

Kurt smiled sadly but nodded. "That sounds great. Goodnight, Blaine."

With that, Kurt shut the door and turned to head up to the school. Blaine watched him go until he disappeared behind the large mahogany doors.

**Well there you have it, Chapter Eleven. I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry that it was so long, but sometimes that just happens.**

**The songs used in this chapter were, **_**Stuck To You**_** by Hellogoodbye, **_**Moves Like Jagger**_** by Maroon 5, and **_**Love Game**_** by Lady Gaga.**

**I just want to point out that I wrote that dance scene before **_**Moves Like Jagger**_** was canon. I don't know. I'm proud of it…**

**Until next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

The next week went by in a blur. Burt had finalized the paperwork for Kurt's exchange to McKinley and he was to report to school the following Monday. His father helped him move back into his old room at home. Though Burt was not one to show too much emotion, Kurt could tell his dad was practically bursting at the seams with happiness to have his boy home again. Kurt had to admit that being home was nice. He was able to spend more time with Carole, helping with dinner and having "girl time" that he could never have at school. Even having his stepbrother, Finn, around wasn't so bad, although living with a bunch of prep school boys could never have prepared him for the vacuum that was Finn at the dinner table. But what Kurt loved most of all about being home was being with his dad who he missed so much when he was way at Dalton. After Kurt's mother had passed away, his father was all he had and though he might have been away at school, they were still very close.

On Friday, Kurt briefly met with the boy he was trading schools with, a kind, blonde boy named Sam with an abnormally large mouth, in Kurt's opinion. They told each other about the schedules they would be going through and daily life at their respective schools. After helping the blonde boy move into Kurt's old room, Kurt introduced him to Jeff who lived across the hall and a few of the other Warblers. Sam was in the glee club at McKinley too, so Kurt believed he would fit right in. Jeff gave Kurt a big hug goodbye and wished him luck at his new school.

That Sunday, the day before Kurt started at McKinley, found Kurt lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. To put it simply, Kurt was freaking out. He had never been to a public high school before. He had packed his leather satchel earlier that evening in preparation and tried to imagine his first day. Would it be that different from Dalton? Would it be just like the movies with lockers and stark hallways and a real gymnasium?

Would there be bullies there?

Kurt rolled onto his side to grab his phone off the nightstand.

"Hello?" said the chipper voice on the other end.

"Blaine," Kurt choked. "I'm freaking out. It's tomorrow. Oh god, it's tomorrow! Blaine I don't know if I can do this-"

"Whoa, okay, okay, calm down," Blaine soothed. "You're going to be _fine_, Kurt."

"You can't know that. Blaine, I've never even been _in_ a public high school. What if I don't fit in? What if the kids don't like me? What if the classes are too hard?"

"Says the boy who's taking Advanced Chemistry and Calculus…"

"I don't know!" Kurt snapped. "What do I even wear? Oh no. Wear. Blaine, I don't even have an outfit picked out!"

"Kurt! Relax!" Kurt stopped his babbling. "Look, I think just about everyone in glee club knows you're coming, so you'll have friends in there. And just wear something that you feel comfortable in, okay? Everyone is going to love you, Kurt. I promise."

Kurt took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Just listening to Blaine talk to him was enough to calm him down. His voice was like velvet, after all; smooth and comforting.

"Kurt?"

"Huh?"

"You stopped talking, are you all right?" he sounded concerned.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks."

"So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, bright and early."

Kurt pulled into the McKinley parking lot the next morning. He grabbed his school bag from the passenger seat and tugged it over his shoulder. Kurt looked down at himself to inspect his carefully chosen outfit. He had decided to go with a light purple button-down shirt with a black and white polka-dotted bowtie and black skinny jeans. His knee high boots clicked ever so slightly as he walked through the parking lot to the front doors.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, he had to stop. The halls were full of life, students crouching at lockers to gather their books, teachers making their way to their homerooms, people talking to their friends, presumably about their weekend endeavors.

He dug out his schedule where he had scribbled down his new locker number and combination. Kurt pushed through the crowded hallways in search of his destination.

Many of them looked at him as he walked past, eyeing him up and down. Kurt wondered if he had done something wrong but decided to brush it off as curiosity in the new kid. The students here didn't seem too bad. Sure, most of them looked like they had gotten dressed in the dark, but they seemed like nice enough people.

Kurt found his new locker with a sigh of relief. With little effort he pulled the door open and placed the books he didn't need until later inside.

This wasn't so hard!

Then it happened. There are moments in one's life that feel as if the world has slowed down. Kurt turned to survey the hallway as he shut his locker. Then from out of nowhere, two boys with blonde hair and a letterman jackets came barreling down the hallway towards him. In their hands was a red cup. Kurt could feel his face turn up in confusion. What could they possibly be doing running with those drinks? That's when it happened. The larger boys raised the cups up toward Kurt's face and before he could even react, he was drenched in red slushie.

"Nice bowtie, Lady!" The one with green eyes shouted as he, his twin brother, and several other guys in matching jackets headed down the hallway laughing.

Kurt had never felt so humiliated, or so cold for that matter, as he slid down the lockers to the floor. The slushie had quickly soaked into his clothes, staining his shirt and making him shiver. He wasn't sure what was worse, the actual act of the slushie slapping him across the face, or how he felt as no one stepped forward to help him. Kurt hugged himself tightly as he began to shiver more violently. He leaned his head against the wall of lockers, trying to hide from the stares.

"Kurt!" He turned ever so slightly to see Blaine running toward him. Taking in the sight, his expression quickly changing from excited to angry. "Wha- what the hell happened?"

Kurt didn't respond, only turning to face the lockers again.

"I- I- Kurt, I'm so sorry," Blaine stammered. "Wait one second."

He turned on his heel and moved down three lockers, opening one on top and pulling out a white shirt collared shirt and what looked like a towel.

"Come with me," he said, taking Kurt's arm, still wrapped around himself, and pulling him into the nearest bathroom.

Blaine set him near the sinks and ran the towel under warm water. He gently began to wipe away the cold drink. Kurt shook underneath his touch, not meeting his eyes.

"Kurt, I'm so sorry," Blaine started as he handed Kurt the white shirt to change into. Kurt pulled his solid shirt off, leaving his undershirt on and began to button the new one up. "They do that to all us glee club kids, not just you. Kurt? Kurt, look at me."

And he did, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Blaine smiled in response, running his hands through Kurt's now ruined hair, trying to get its style back. They looked at each other for a moment, unspoken words lingering in the air. Blaine cleared his throat, "So do you have a song picked out for your audition this afternoon?"

"Pardon me?"

"For glee. You have to audition to get into the club, you know."

"I was unaware of this. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I guess I forgot. I'm sorry, is that going to be a problem?"

Kurt sighed, "No, luckily I always have something on me."

"Good," Blaine smiled. "And, uh, I would suggest something not as, uh, sexual as you normally sing."

"Why? Are you worried someone is going to take me from you?" Kurt chided.

_Yes,_ Blaine thought. _That and I can't afford to get a hard on during class…_

"So, uh, do you know where your first class is?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

Kurt nodded, grabbing his bag off the floor and heading for the door. "Fourth level; Advanced French."

"Damn, Kurt! _Fourth_? How do you manage all these advanced classes?"

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Luckily, Kurt did not see the boys that had slushied him again. Kurt made his way through his new schedule easily; Advanced French, Advanced Calculus, Lunch, World Literature, and European History. As Kurt headed to his last class, Chemistry, he sulked silently to himself. McKinley did not offer an Advanced Chemistry class like Dalton did and he feared he would not be challenged enough in this lesser curriculum. He entered the room slowly, exhausted from long day.

"Kurt!" His head snapped up at the familiar voice. Blaine sat in the second to last row next to the window, waving wildly at him. His entire face brightened at the sight of him. Blaine was in one of his classes!

"Hey," Kurt greeted, sitting in the seat next to him. "I didn't know you were in this class?"

"Yeah, isn't it awesome? You remember Rachel?"

Kurt looked at the brunette sitting in front of Blaine. Honestly, Kurt hadn't even noticed her until Blaine had pointed her out. Her bright brown eyes looked at him expectantly.

"Yes, of course. The girl from Sectionals."

"Hello, Kurt. It's a pleasure to see you again. Will you be joining us for glee club after this?"

"I think I'll make an appearance," Kurt smirked.

"So how have you liked McKinley so far?" Blaine asked. "You know, aside from this morning."

"It's all very weird to me. I mean, being able to wear my own clothes to school is so exciting. I have so many ideas for outfits."

"That's right, Dalton has uniforms," Rachel said. "I like what you've put together today though," she said, gesturing to his outfit.

"What can I say, it's a gift."

Their teacher called attention to the front of the room as class began. Blaine looked at Kurt through the corner of his eye. Rachel was right. Kurt _did_ look good today. The way those jeans clung to his thighs and hips was enough to drive him wild. Blaine eyes trailed up Kurt's body, admiring how Blaine's too-small shirt hugged Kurt's shoulders and chest. Kurt's hair, though slightly disheveled from this morning's slushie facial, looked fantastic and fluffy. And-

Oh. Kurt was looking at him. Oh shit. How long had he been looking? Had he seen how Blaine was staring? The sly smirk on his lips suggested yes. Blaine blushed to his hairline and faced front.

That afternoon, Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel left class together and headed to the choir room for glee club. They were met with smiling faces that Kurt only slightly recognized from Sectionals. Brittany left her Latina friend (Santana, was it?) behind in favor of greeting Blaine with a kiss. Blaine practically grimaced at her kiss. Kurt averted his eyes, trying his best not to show the hurt that he felt.

_Not again, really?_ Kurt internally scoffed. _I'm so sick of this._

Rachel took him by the arm and led him over to the rows of chairs, setting him down in the seat next to her. Rachel wasn't a bad girl. Sure, she was bossy as hell, but Kurt could see himself becoming friends with the likes of her.

"You can sit next to me, Kurt," she said with a well-practiced smile. "I'll introduce you to my boyfriend when he gets here too. He's the star quarterback of our football team."

"That would be very nice, thank you."

Blaine finally pried himself away from Brittany, telling her to go sit with Santana. She nodded obediently, jumping into the brunette's lap. Blaine sat down on the other side of Kurt with a sigh.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kurt mumbled angrily.

"You don't even know," Blaine responded as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He looked at Kurt with a side-glance. His stunning blue eyes watched him carefully with concern. It sent Blaine's heart into a frenzy.

_You don't even _know_._

"Oh, here comes my perfect boyfriend!" Rachel cooed.

Kurt's jaw almost dropped to the floor. The tall, awkward quarterback strolled into the room; his short brown hair nearly hitting the top of the doorframe on the way in. He had his ever-present doofy expression plastered on his face, as he pulled on his letterman jacket and looked at Rachel.

"Hello, Finn," Rachel grinned, standing on her tiptoes to unsuccessfully kiss him. Finn leaned down to meet her lips with a smile.

"Hey," he responded.

"I have someone I'd like you to meet. This is-"

"Kurt?" Finn gawked.

"Hello, Finn," Kurt said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"You two know each other?" Blaine asked, looking between the two of them.

"Oh very well," Kurt explained. "Finn is my stepbrother."

"Finn!" Rachel smacked him on the arm. Finn flinched. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"I, uh, I didn't think of it! I mean, he's been away at school so it's never really been brought up before. What are you doing here, man?"

Kurt groaned. "Did you think I moved back home because tuition got too high? Finn, I go to school here now. Did you not notice that your friend Sam was gone?"

"Oh yeah, I wondered why he wasn't in Earth Science this morning…"

Kurt smacked his forehead with his palm at his stepbrother's stupidity.

Finn was spared Kurt's retort as Mr. Schuester walked into the room, asking his students to settle down.

"Alright, guys, let's start brainstorming for Regionals!"

"Uh, Mr. Schue?" Blaine asked, raising his hand.

"Yes, Blaine?"

"We have a new student here today."

Mr. Schue eyes took in Kurt sitting next to Blaine, "Oh hi! You must be the kid who's exchanging schools with Sam."

"Yes, sir."

"What's your name?"

"Kurt Hummel, sir." Kurt said, back straightening and slipping into his private school manners.

"Everyone, meet Kurt. Tell me, Kurt, can you sing?"

"Yes, sir, I can. I was head councilman of my old school's glee club."

"Wonderful. Do you have something prepared for us?"

"Well, sort of. I was only informed this morning that I would need to audition so soon, but I believe I can do something for you now."

"Alright then. The stage is yours, Kurt."

Kurt glared at Blaine, who gave him a confused smile. Kurt strutted up to the front of the room and sat down at the piano. Kurt bent over the piano, playing out the first notes. Instantly, all of the New Directions knew what the song was:

_Close enough to start a war  
>All that I have is on the floor<br>God only knows what we're fighting for  
>All that I say, you always say more<br>_

Kurt looked up from the piano for a moment, and looked right at Blaine.

_I can't keep up with your turning tables  
>Under your thumb I can't breathe<em>

This song meant more to Kurt than he was willing to let on. To himself, Kurt admittedly liked Blaine but sometimes it was hard to take. The flirty moments at the Lima Bean, the sweet moments alone in the car, the secret smiles shared across a room, were wonderful. They made Kurt feel like he could fly because Blaine was looking at him _that_ way. The way he wished he would always look at him.

Kurt turned back to the piano, closing his eyes and rocking to the music.

_So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me  
>No, I won't rescue you to just desert me<br>I can't give you the heart you think you gave me  
>It's time to say goodbye to turning tables<br>To turning tables_

_I can't keep up with your turning tables  
>Under your thumb I can't breathe<em>

But then there were times when Blaine felt like a stranger to him, like when Blaine would suddenly bring up Brittany. It broke Kurt's heart and it wasn't fair to him.

No. He would not allow himself to pine after a boy who would not, could not love him back.

_So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me,  
>No, I won't rescue you to just desert me<br>I can't give you the heart you think you gave me  
>It's time to say goodbye to turning tables<br>Turning tables  
><em>

Kurt gazed back at Blaine with his eyes saying everything he couldn't. Blaine's eyes looked like saucers, his dark brows at his hairline.

_Good,_ Kurt thought. _Maybe he'll get it._

Kurt braced himself for the bridge, closing his eyes once more, feeling the music.

_Next time I'll be braver  
>I'll be my own savior<br>When the thunder calls for me  
>Next time I'll be braver<br>I'll be my own savior  
>Standing on my own two feet<em>

_It's time to say goodbye to turning tables  
>To turning tables<br>Turning tables, yeah  
>Turning, oh<em>

As the song came to an end, Kurt looked back at the New Directions, gauging their reactions. The overall result was silence. Silence and awe. Rachel clutched Finn's hand on his lap, staring at Kurt with an expression that could only be described as a mix of pain and empathy. His stepbrother looked confused at Kurt's sudden choice of song. Even Kurt could keep up the façade of his musical tastes at home.

The reaction Kurt really wanted to know about was Blaine's.

Blaine gazed at Kurt with his eyebrows high and a quizzical expression on his face.

_Did he get it?_ Kurt wondered. _Did he get the subliminal message?_

The New Directions burst into loud applause and shouts of encouragement. Kurt smiled shyly at them and returned to his seat, not looking at Blaine as he followed him with his eyes.

"Wow," Mr. Schue said suddenly, "That was incredible! I think it's safe to say, welcome to the New Directions, Kurt!"

"Thank you, sir." Kurt smiled, looking at the rest of the club. "Thank you, everyone."

Kurt sat at his desk later that night, working on his homework. Truthfully, the workload was a lot less than he was used to. His phone buzzed loudly next to him.

_(7:32pm) From Blaine:_

_Hey, I hope your first day at McKinley was all right._

Kurt smirked and typed out a quick response.

_(7:35pm) To Blaine:_

_It was superb, actually. Well, accept for that slushie to the face this morning._

_(7:37pm) From Blaine:_

_Yeah, sorry about that._

_(7:37pm) To Blaine:_

_It's fine._

_(7:38pm) From Blaine:_

_So I wanted to ask you something…_

_(7:38pm) To Blaine:_

_Ask away._

_(7:41PM) From Blaine:_

_So, that song you sang today? It was incredible. I have *never* heard you sing like that before. I mean, from what I could tell, you had a lot of emotion behind it. Where did that come from?_

There it was_, the_ question. So Blaine had noticed something was up. He decided to play dumb.

_(7:43pm) To Blaine:_

_What do you mean exactly?_

_(7:46pm) From Blaine:_

_Well, you looked like you were going to cry, for one thing. But the looks you were giving me? Was that song supposed to be directed at me? Did I do something wrong?_

_(7:47pm) To Blaine:_

_You think I was singing that to you?_

_(7:48pm) From Blaine:_

_I don't know! That's why I'm asking!_

Kurt wasn't really sure how to respond. He didn't want to screw up his relationship with Blaine, no matter how frustrating it was. Blaine was, as far as anyone knew, straight _and_ with Brittany and Kurt was simply friends with Blaine. He would do anything to stay in his life, even if that meant he was miserable some of the time.

_(7:54pm) To Blaine:_

_Blaine, don't be ridiculous. Why would I sing you a song about a person who always changes their mind?_

_(8:00pm) From Blaine:_

_Oh. Okay. I was just wondering._

_(8:02pm) To Blaine:_

_Yeah._

_(1:20am) From Blaine:_

_Kurt…?_

Kurt rolled over in bed and looked at his phone with a groan.

_(1:22am) To Blaine:_

_Yrah? _

_(1:23pm) From Blaine:_

_Your song? I never really got the chance to tell you but it was really good. Like, really good._

Kurt smiled groggily at the tiny screen. Even though he couldn't tell Blaine how he really felt just yet, it was still good to stick around for the ride.

_(1:24am) To Blaine:_

_Thank oyu._

_(1:25am) From Blaine:_

_Lol. Good night, Kurt._

_(1:26am) To Blaine:_

_Gnight Blaine._


	13. Chapter 13

The rest of the week went pretty smoothly. With the curriculum being so much easier than that of Dalton, Kurt went through his classes effortlessly. He slowly but surely found his niche with the New Directions. Though he was still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that he didn't have the lead on every song, he found it relaxing to not have to be in the spotlight all of the time. Being the star could be exhausting!

Kurt recognized a few of the New Directions in his other classes. The pretty blonde girl that Puck was after, Quinn, was in his World Literature class and seemed quite knowledgeable. He also found that Rachel was in two more of his classes, other than the one they shared with Blaine. He hated to admit it, but Rachel was starting to grow on him. They had very similar personalities after all.

Kurt and Blaine's relationship seemed to be doing better as well, as long as Brittany stayed clear. With their shared class, they had an excuse to spend more time together. And if he was being honest, Blaine was not very good at Chemistry. Kurt had made Blaine promise to let him help him study when exams came.

It was finally the weekend and Kurt had slept in very late. At Dalton, boys were parading up and down the halls as early as six or seven o' clock in the morning so he was never able to sleep in.

Kurt's thoughts flicked to Sam and he hoped that the blonde boy didn't mind waking up early. After a hot shower and his morning, or rather afternoon, skin care regimen, Kurt dressed and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. His father would be at the shop by now. Running his own repair shop tended to consume a lot of his time. He spotted a note on the kitchen counter from Carole explaining that she had been called to the hospital for an emergency. As a nurse, one never knew when Carole would have to run out.

Kurt rummaged around the kitchen in search of something to eat. He ended up finding the makings of a salad and threw together a small lunch for himself.

_BANG!_

Kurt dropped his bowl in shock.

"Shit!" he cursed, picking up the little pieces of lettuce and tomato that had scattered across the floor and tossing them into the trash. "Finn, I swear to god."

Suddenly the front door burst open, followed by the sound of stomping feet. Kurt readied himself to yell at his stepbrother for whatever he had broken that had caused him to drop his lunch.

"Seriously, dude, that amp is about five hundred years old," Puck said, walking in behind Finn. "It's not going to break after one little drop."

Finn breezed past Kurt and headed straight for the fridge, grabbing every kind of meat and cheese he could find and throwing it on the counter.

"Finn?" Kurt said.

"Yeah, but I still worry about it," Finn argued, ignoring Kurt and tossing Puck a bottle of mustard. "Just be gentle with it?"

"Finn!" Kurt shouted.

Finn jumped. "Geez! What?"

"What the _fuck_ was that noise? You made me drop my lunch," he huffed.

"Puck dropped my amp."

"Sorry, dude," Puck said, addressing Kurt. "You could have some of this ham though?"

"I don't eat processed meats, Puck."

"Fine. Starve." Puck turned back to his sandwich making, stacking the pile of meat, cheese, and bread higher and higher.

"Are you feeding an army?" Kurt gawked.

"Well, we're hungry," Finn mumbled. "We eat a lot, we're growing."

"Oh, I've noticed."

"Hey, Finn?" came a voice from the front room. Blaine popped his head around the corner, "Do you need help bringing out the sandw…" He trailed off when he saw Kurt standing in the middle of the kitchen.

"Blaine?"

"Kurt?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kurt asked.

"I- I'm here for band practice," he stammered.

"Band pra- you're in _Finn's_ band?"

"Hey!" Puck barked, pointing at Kurt with a mustard-covered knife. "It's _our_ band. Not Finn's."

"_This_ is the band you were talking about?" Kurt said, ignoring Puck.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I had no idea Finn was your brother until this week and-"

"I thought you said you were in a band with someone named Noah?" he interrupted.

"Yo," Puck said, trying to get Kurt's attention. Kurt glared at him, "Noah Puckerman? That'd be me, dude."

Kurt stared at them, stunned. This was too much to take in. Blaine was in a band _with his brother_. This whole time Kurt had no idea. How could this not have come up?

"I- I, okay. Wow, okay," Kurt stuttered.

Blaine simply stared at him, unable to say anything. Kurt couldn't help but notice how disheveled Blaine looked from practice. His curly hair stuck out in every which direction, his white tee shirt stuck to him with sweat, his dark blue jeans clung to his legs in ways that Kurt couldn't help but stare at.

"Sorry for causing trouble, Kurt," Kurt snapped out of his trance at Finn's words. Finn tucked as many sandwiches has he could under his chin. "We have practice here from time to time. We'll try to be more quiet, all right?"

"What, no!" Puck argued. "We're a band, we make noise! I know, why don't you come out and jam with us, Kurt?" he joked.

"Actually that would be a great idea!" Finn smiled. "Are you up for it, Kurt?"

Puck groaned, clearly Finn had not heard the sarcasm in his voice. Kurt looked back at Blaine who had not moved from his place in the entryway of the kitchen. Would Kurt like to see Blaine play? Yes, very much so. The only time he had seen Blaine on his own was that one night at the club. It _would_ be nice to see Blaine in his element again…

"I'm in," Kurt smirked at Puck who clearly was regretting his joke gone wrong. The four of them carried out, in Kurt's opinion, an absurd amount of sandwiches to the garage where their set up was.

Once in the garage Kurt's stomach sank. This clearly wasn't a closed session to begin with. Sitting on the wall were Tina and Mike talking to each other softly, Quinn, the girl from his literature class, Rachel… and Brittany.

"Kurt!" Rachel squealed, running up to him. Kurt's eyes widened as she hugged him around the neck. "I didn't think you would show up."

"Well, it _is_ my house, Rachel…"

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the girls," she said ignoring him and taking his hand. Kurt watched as the band members continued to set up their equipment. Well, he watched as _Blaine_ set up his equipment. He couldn't help but notice the way that Blaine's muscles flexed and relaxed underneath his tight fitting white tee shirt, the way that single bead of sweat was rolling down his neck, the way his hair curled and stuck to his forehead.

"Kurt?"

He whipped his head around to see Rachel staring at him with a quizzical expression.

"Uh, what? Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" she asked, eyeing him closely. Kurt blushed to his roots and nodded. "Anyway, this is Quinn, our head cheerleader."

"We've met," Quinn smiled. "Hey, Kurt."

"Hello, Quinn. Good to see you."

"And this is Tina Cohen-Chang, Mike's girlfriend."

The small Asian girl smiled at him. "Hi, Kurt. I feel like we should have talked more before now."

"Yes, so do I. We'll have to fix that," Kurt winked.

"And of course, you know Brittany," Rachel continued, gauging Kurt's reaction.

"Yes, I know Brittany. Hello," Kurt said through his teeth.

"Oh, you're the bird! Did you fly here?"

Kurt gave her a look and turned away from her. He didn't have the patience for her stupidity today.

Lucky for him, the band had finally set up and started to play the first chords of their song.

"Yo, what up?" Puck bellowed into the microphone. "We are Don't Blinnk, and this is our practice jam session!" Kurt and the girls burst into applause and cheers.

"This first song is a personal favorite of mine," Puck added, strumming his bass guitar. "Take it away, Finn!"

Finn leaned into the mic and sang the first verse.

_I took her out it was a Friday night  
>I wore cologne to get the feeling right<br>We started making out and she took off my pants  
>But then I turned on the TV<em>

_And that's about the time she walked away from me_

At the chorus Blaine and Puck joined in on the harmonies.

_Nobody likes you when you're 23  
>And are still more amused by TV shows<br>What the hell is ADD?  
>My friends say I should act my age<br>What's my age again?  
>What's my age again?<br>_

Blaine picked up the next line with a smirk.

Kurt's heart tripled in pace. Sure, the song choice was not what Kurt would have picked, but that didn't make his singing any less attractive.

_Then later on, on the drive home  
>I called her mom from a pay phone<br>I said I was the cops and your husband's in jail  
>This state looks down on sodomy<br>_

Kurt watched as Blaine strummed his guitar, causing his oh-so perfect muscles to bulge and flex. He flipped his dark curls out of his eyes, his mouth slack in concentration. Kurt could feel the blush creeping onto his face. This was not fair. _Blaine_ was not fair. Kurt shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to hide is growing problem.

_That's about the time that she broke up with me (Please stay with me)  
>No one should take themselves so seriously (Please stay with me)<br>With many years ahead to fall in line (Please stay with me)  
>Why would you wish that on me?<br>I never want to act my age (Please stay with me)  
>What's my age again?<em>

_What's my age again?  
><em>

The girls all burst into deafening cheers for their respective boyfriends and love interests. Kurt looked at Blaine, who gave a quick nod to Brittany and turned his attention to him. Blaine's face split into a bright smile and made Kurt want to melt into his seat. His heart pounded loudly in his chest and he knew he had to get out of there. If Blaine continued to stare at him like that, he was going to do something he knew he would regret. Brittany rushed to Blaine, taking his face in her hands and kissing him solidly on the mouth.

Kurt stood quickly, dashed toward the door.

"Kurt?" Blaine called. "Britt, knock it off, get off me. _Kurt_!"

Kurt didn't stop to answer him; he had to get out of there, fast.

"Kurt?" came Rachel's voice. "Kurt, stop."

She grabbed onto his forearm, forcing him to stop in his driveway.

"Let go of me," Kurt snapped, wrenching his arm away.

"Kurt, what's going on," she pressed. "With you and Blaine?"

"Nothing. Nothing is going on," he snapped because, well, it was true. Nothing was going on. Blaine was with Brittany and Kurt was only a friend and would always be, just a friend.

"Kurt, don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at him. It's hard not to. Kurt, Blaine-"

"Blaine's with Brittany," he finished for her. "I know. I get it. I can't have him. I'm aware. But- but you don't understand. He's my best friend, he always has been. And I- I know that I shouldn't feel like this, but I can't help it. He's just so- so _Blaine_. We've been through so much together, more than you or Puck or that son of a bitch Brittany would ever understand! And then he just shows up in my life again and all these feelings stir up and I can't do anything about it because he's _straight_ and he's _taken_. And I can't. I can't handle this anymore, Rachel, I can't."

Kurt hugged himself tightly. There it was. He had admitted it. He was in love with Blaine. And now, Rachel knew. They could hear the band starting back up with another song inside the garage.

"Kurt," she whispered. "I- I'm sorry." She made to touch his arm but he moved away. "Kurt, I know this is hard for you. Believe me, I know what it's like to chase after someone who is taken… and seemingly unreachable… But it can work out in the end."

"It's a bit easier for you, Rachel," he snapped, "At least the people you chase after play for the same team."

"How do you know?"

"What?" he sniffed.

"I mean, are you sure that Blaine is, uh, straight?"

"Rachel, he and Britt suck face every chance they get. I'd say that's pretty heterosexual."

"Yeah, but Kurt," Rachel soothed. "Have you ever looked at him while it happens? Have you ever paid attention to how he reacts? Do you even see the way he looks at _you_ sometimes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm a very perceptive person, Kurt. I notice things that often go unnoticed. Like how Santana is always kinder to Britt than anyone else or how Blaine looks at you…"

Kurt hadn't really considered that. Did Blaine look at him differently than he did Brittany? Blaine had told him that he was straight before, but did that make it true? Kurt gazed at Rachel who looked up at him with pleading eyes. No. He couldn't let Rachel influence him like this. Blaine knew what he was and what he wasn't was interested in a relationship with Kurt.

"Let's, let's just go back inside," Kurt sighed.

Rachel beamed at him, taking his arm and following him into the garage. The band had just finished wrapping up another song as the girls on the wall clapped for them.

"There you two are!" Finn said from behind the drums. "I was getting worried."

"Kurt and I just needed to talk in a place that wasn't so loud. No big deal." Rachel ushered Kurt back to his seat next to her.

"Hummel," Puck called. "Why don't you come up here and sing with us? The next song is a duet with Blaine and it has a lady's part in it."

"Like you would know anything about 'lady parts', Puckerman." Kurt retorted, turning red. The other band members laughed. Blaine smiled, trying to hide his laughter. Kurt was always one with good comebacks. "But sure, I'll gladly take your place."

Kurt sauntered up to the stage, giving Puck a smug smile. Sure, he wanted to prove to the New Directions that he could hold his own, but most of all, he wanted a duet with Blaine.

"Shall we?" Blaine smirked.

Kurt nodded, his stomach already twisting in knots from the expression Blaine had given him.

Blaine played the first chords of the song, counting in the other members of the band. Kurt's eyes widened. He knew this song. Why, _why_ did it have to be this song? In his current situation, this song was too much!

Blaine started off the song, taking the male lead.

_Write a hook write a verse write a chorus write a melody_

_Can't express how I feel without singing it the right way_

_I'm doing better now I'm doing good_

_I'm doing all the things I know I should_

Blaine looked at Kurt through the corner of his eye. He had picked out this song especially for Kurt, to sing to him someday, but never had he ever dreamed he would get to sing it _with_ him!

He still wasn't sure what it was that he felt towards Kurt, but he knew it was more than he had ever felt towards anyone before. He had to find a way to let him know.

_Will I find a way to tell her how I feel about her?_

_Will she come to me and will she read my mind?_

_Will she read my mind?_

_Come on, Kurt,_ Blaine begged. _Read my mind._

Kurt looked at Blaine with confusion as he started the next verse.

_He's the one in my dreams but I cannot tell him anything_

_Can't express how I feel even if it is the right way_

Kurt couldn't help but roll his eyes. The words he sang now fit his feelings too well.

Blaine joined him on the next few lines, looking at Kurt all the while.

_I'm doing better now I'm doing good_

_I'm doing all the things I know I should_

_Will I find a way to tell him how I feel about him?_

_Will he come to me and will he read my mind?_

_Will he read my mind?_

Forgetting the onlookers, Kurt and Blaine stared at each other, feeling the song around them. They moved closer, singing directly to each other.

_Hey everything I need is right in front of me_

_Here I go here's my burst of emotion_

_Here I go now I'm telling you_

_Swallow all of my pride for the first time_

_Don't know what to say_

_Will I find a way (to tell him how I) how I feel about her?_

_Will she come to me (and will he read my mind)?_

_Will she read my mind?_

The song ended with Kurt and Blaine staring into each other's eyes, panting. Their friends erupted into applause with encouraging shouts and catcalls.

Kurt's eyes flickered down to Blaine's mouth briefly as he flushed deep pink.

"Kurt," Blaine mumbled, seeming to lean forward just a little bit.

But Blaine didn't have a chance to finish as Kurt bolted from the room. The New Directions looked after him, but none followed. Brittany hopped up from her spot, completely oblivious to the tension in the room and planted a kiss on Blaine's cheek. He shirked away from her with a glare.

"Blainey be-"

"Just," he said with a raise of his hand. "Just, stop, Britt, okay? Can we just play another song please?"

Finn, Puck, and Mike looked at each other and nodded, counting them in for the next number.

**Okay, so there you have it. Band practice with Don't Blinnk. Cool name, right? It's a combination of Blaine, Mike, Finn, and Puck's names.**

**The songs were **_**What's My Age Again?**_** By Blink 182 and **_**Read My Mind **_**by Alex Goot. Things are going to start coming to a head very soon so watch out! I hope you liked it!**


	14. Chapter 14

The following week, things were weird between Kurt and Blaine. On Wednesday they sat in their usual seats in Chemistry. Rachel and Kurt took diligent notes as the teacher droned on about ionic bonds. Blaine, on the other hand, couldn't even be bothered to look at his notebook. His full attention was on Kurt. Every little thing about him was suddenly the most intriguing thing that the world had to offer. The way his legs looked in those tight, dark blue skinny jeans as one crossed over the other. The way his red autumn sweater fell off to one side to reveal a delicate, pale shoulder that connected to a long neck that connected to a soft jawbone that changed into slightly flushed cheeks and gorgeous blue eyes that still, no matter what, took Blaine's breath away. And Blaine was staring…

He quickly turned his attention to the front of the room, trying to pick up where they were in the lesson.

Covalent bonds. _Shit_. When had they gotten there? Where did the iconic bonds go? He still didn't understand those yet! Blaine groaned softly in frustration. The noise caught Kurt's attention, and he turned to look at him, the tip of his eraser in his mouth. Kurt pulled the pencil from his lips and smiled sympathetically.

"I'll help you later," he mouthed to Blaine.

Blaine blushed deep red and looked down at his desk, unable to look at Kurt. He nodded his response. Kurt chuckled softly and resumed his writing.

_What the hell was that, Anderson?_ Blaine thought, internally kicking himself. _Since when are you a bashful schoolgirl?_

Since Kurt Hummel reentered your life, that's when.

Kurt started biting lightly at his eraser, concentrating on the teacher's lecture. Blaine watched shamelessly when those lips curled into a triumphant smirk as he answered a question correctly.

Why couldn't Blaine get Kurt out of his mind? It must have been hearing Kurt sing the other day. It had changed something inside of him. Blaine had heard Kurt sing before, but never like he had when he auditioned for the New Directions. Blaine had tried to brush off the strange feelings he had been experiencing since that day.

And then they had sung together.

Blaine thought back to that afternoon. Kurt's eyes on his, his voice ringing like a bell, his face flushed.

And Blaine was now seeing Kurt _everywhere_. He saw Kurt's eyes when he looked at the bright blue sky, he heard his sweet, high voice when the birds chirped outside his bedroom window, and he was reminded of him when he took a single sip of coffee in the morning.

It was madness.

Blaine was on his way to glee club later that day when heard something strange coming from a neighboring hallway.

"Please, leave me alone!"

It was Kurt! Blaine peaked around the corner to find Kurt clutching his book to his chest tightly, surrounded by Jeremy and James. Kurt looked anxiously around, trying to find a way to escape their looming cage.

"I can't believe you would be dumb enough to come back here, Hummel." Jeremy said down at him.

"Seriously, how thick you can be?" His brother added.

"Oh, I'm much _thicker_ than you'll ever know." Kurt snapped back, trying his best to seem braver than he felt.

James blushed to his ears, looking away.

"You better watch your mouth, Hummel!" The green-eyed brother defended, snatching Kurt's books out of his arms, "James, why don't we show Kurt a little tag team Bubb brother hospitality?"

The blonde boys sneered down at Kurt, ready to pounce.

"_Hey!"_

All three in the hallway looked to find Blaine standing in plain view. By this point, Blaine was fuming. No one treated Kurt like that! Blaine quickly slid between Kurt and the brothers, stretching his arms out wide to protect him.

"What are _you_ doing here, Peewee?" Jeremy barked.

"Leave him alone," Blaine said through his teeth. Blaine had never felt like this before, a strange mix of anger, rage, and protectiveness.

"Or what?" Jeremy scoffed at him.

"Or I'll shove that Calculus book so far up you ass you'll be seeing math equations for a week!"

"Aw, how cute, Jeremy! Anderson is protecting his little boyfriend!"

Blaine could feel his face going hot, but stood his ground and kept his face unchanging.

"I think maybe we should put his love to the test- huh?"

"Hey there, guys." Puck said from behind the twins, a hand clasped on each of their shoulders. "Why don't you learn to play _nice_?"

"Ow!" Jeremy and James bent under his powerful grip as he tightened it.

"Now why don't you two run along, huh?" The twins scrambled out from under his grasp and disappeared down the hallway. Puck smirked after them. "Coming, Blaine?" He asked, leaving the scene.

Blaine turned and smiled at Kurt whose face was flushed and his eyes wide.

"See you for a study session and coffee?"

Kurt nodded and Blaine smirked, following Puck.

As promised, Kurt offered to help Blaine with his chemistry later that afternoon. They sat in their usual spot by the window at the Lima Bean, coffees in hand and books open. With a lot of prompting from Kurt to pay attention, they had gone over the material enough so that Blaine would be able to follow through in class the next day.

Blaine was having a hard time concentrating on the conversation he and Kurt were having. The only thing that was running through is mind was _kurtkurtkurt_ and it was proving to be a problem.

"I can't even fully express to you how awful those uniforms were," Kurt complained, like it physically pained him even think about it. "I mean, I understand the cliché uniformed private school boys and their obvious sexual appeal to gay guys, but they were torture. I am just so happy to be out of it and into my own clothes."

Blaine nodded in comment. He was unable to respond fully anyway. Blaine traced the smooth line of Kurt's neck and shoulder where it was exposed from that red, sinful sweater with his eyes. Why was he doing this? He had never even had these sort of feelings towards Brittany!

Brittany.

She was a problem in her own right.

Earlier that week she had asked to "come over and study" with Blaine. Normally that meant five minutes of studying and two hours of making out or more, but this time was different.

They had been sitting on Blaine's bed that afternoon when the first notable problem came up.

"_Blainey-Bear," Brittany whined, leaning over so that her already obvious cleavage was on display._

"_Yeah?" Blaine mumbled, not bothering to look up from his notebook._

"_So, are we going to make out or-?"_

_Blaine met Brittany's eyes, shocked. "Oh. Uh, yeah, okay, sure, uh, yeah, come 'ere."_

_Blaine put his book down on the nightstand as Brittany hopped up from her spot enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms around his neck, climbing on top of his lap. She crashed their lips together. Sure, Blaine kissed back, but something was off. What was wrong? He tried forcing himself to be turned on, thinking of Brittany. Her smooth skin, her blue eyes, her soft, brown hair-_

_Brown? No. Brittany's hair was blonde. Who had brown hair? No, not brown, chestnut-auburn hair, soft as down feathers. And eyes, blue eyes that shined with such intensity they dulled any that tried to compare. And creamy, porcelain skin. And a slender frame with a secretly toned chest that could only be seen in the tightest of outfits. And tight tight tight jean clad legs that seemed to stretch for miles. And-_

"_Kurt," he whispered against lips._

"_Blaine?"_

_Instantly, Blaine was pulled out of his fantasy of the person who was not on top of him. Brittany scowled from above._

"_What did you just say?"_

"_I uh, I said Squirt! You know, like the little turtle from _Finding Nemo_? We should watch that…"_

"_As much as I love that movie, I'd rather have sex," she said bluntly, sliding off of him. "If you're not into this right now, I'm going home." _

"_Britt, wait, I'm sorry!" _

Before Kurt had come back into the picture, Blaine's life was finally starting to become normal. He had a beautiful cheerleader as his girlfriend, he played in a band with one of the biggest badasses in town, he was in their school glee club, and he played soccer. Sure, he had bullies like the Bubb twins, a runaway mother, and a father who was never home, but his life was more or less simple.

But Kurt had changed all that. He seemed to have a knack for making Blaine's head spin.

The slender boy continued to talk to him as they packed their books and left the coffee shop. They headed to their cars at the far end of the parking lot and Blaine couldn't help but stare. The young Kurt Hummel he knew really had matured into a handsome man. Though Blaine didn't want to admit it, Kurt drove him mad.

The way Kurt's eyes lit up when he talked about singing lead with the Warblers. The way his nose wrinkled when he complained about the atrocious school uniforms he had to wear, which did his oh-so-wonderful figure no justice that made Blaine silently thank heaven above that he was at McKinley now. The way he absentmindedly rubbed the only exposed part of his long neck while talking to Blaine about something he couldn't possibly remember right now.

And his skin just looked so soft. The way his lips curled up above those pearly white teeth when he smiled. The way his mouth moved when he talked, rolling words like waves on a shore. And the way he licked his lips between sentences. How talented that mouth must be, with all the singing exercises and French lessons.

Before he knew what he was doing, Blaine leaned forward, pressing Kurt into his car and silencing him with a kiss. Just as Blaine had thought, Kurt tasted delicious, like coffee and roses. Could someone even taste like roses? Kurt's eyes widened in shock, but instinctively, he kissed back. At Kurt's response, Blaine heated the kiss, twining his fingers into the hair at the base of Kurt's neck. Lips hot and steady over Kurt's, Blaine felt something new he'd never thought he could feel. A sudden spark of pleasure shot through him. This was like nothing he had ever experienced with a girl; it was like a drug to him, something that he could never get enough of. Blaine's tongue slipped out to lick at Kurt's lower lip. Kurt's lips parted obediently. Blaine slid his tongue into Kurt's mouth. He groaned and impulsively felt embarrassed about it… until Kurt moaned into his mouth too. Kurt's tongue played at his own and Blaine's mind practically melted right then and there.

Finally, Kurt was the one who pulled away, staring at the boy in front of him. Blaine looked back at Kurt and his face twisted up into confusion.

_What _was_ that?_ Blaine wondered. _Why did I do that? But Kurt, he- he's just so amazing; unlike anyone I've ever met. But Brittany…_

"Blaine?" Kurt started, giving him an eye-full of _whatthehellwasthat?_

"I have to go."

"No, Blaine, stop." Kurt called, catching him by the wrist, the golden bracelet he still wore digging into his hand. "What is going on with you? First you take me out dancing, and that duet, and then I catch you staring at me in class, don't think I haven't noticed, and now this?"

"That was nothing," Blaine snapped. Blaine made to leave again, but Kurt held on tightly to him. Blaine, his body still facing away, kept his eyes trained on the ground. What a mess he had gotten himself into.  
>"'Nothing'? Blaine, that was not nothing. You don't just do <em>that<em> for 'nothing'. You-"

"Just forget about it, Kurt!"

"Forget about it? You don't want me to forget it. You _can't_ want me to forget it." Kurt's voice cracked as he whispered Blaine's cruel words. Blaine lifted his head, gazing into those two sapphire eyes that had consumed his every thought since Kurt had reentered his life. Why was it that he couldn't stop thinking of him? Everything about Kurt clouded his mind with thoughts that he shouldn't, no, _couldn't_ have. Kurt stared back at him, his face hard and serious. "I don't understand what's going on, Blaine. I'm so confused. I thought you were straight?"

"I am!" Blaine shouted back. Kurt's eyes flashed with the same hurt Blaine had seen pushed to the corners of his eyes before. It flooded forward, making his beautiful eyes sparkle with unshed tears. Kurt quickly gathered himself and replaced it with the stony expression Blaine had learned to hate. But Blaine had seen the damage. "I mean, I don't know. I thought I was. I don't know. Kurt, I don't know what I'm doing. You showing back up in my life has thrown me so far out into left field. You're the only one who has made me feel like this."  
>"But what about Brittany?"<p>

"The _only one,_ Kurt! I just- I don't know. I'm so confused. I can't be… you know."  
>"Gay?" Kurt said with a cross of his arms.<p>

"Yeah, that. I'm not, Kurt."

Kurt took a step forward, capturing Blaine's face in between his hands. He gazed straight into Blaine's eyes. "You're lying," he whispered, releasing his face.

"No. I can't."

"You're lying to yourself, Blaine," Kurt accused, taking a few steps back, shaking his head. "You want- you want so badly to be the normal American teenage boy with the cheerleader girlfriend and be the star of the football team-"

"Soccer," Blaine corrected.

"-But you're better than that, Blaine. The boy that I knew when we were children would have never let anyone tell him who he was or who he wasn't. He wasn't afraid of anything, much less what other people thought of him."

He stepped away and got into his car, turning the key and rolling down the window. "I like you, Blaine. I like you a lot. But you need to figure yourself out before you hurt someone," Kurt spat, voice cracking on the last word. He pulled out of the parking spot with one last look.

"Get back to me when you've made up your mind and you know what's going on in that head of yours. I'll see you in school." And with that, Kurt Hummel drove out of the parking lot and was gone.

Blaine stared after him, unable to speak and fell back against his car.

What had he done? He had pushed away his best friend in the whole world with one swift mistake. The one person he cared about most in his life, gone without a second look. Blaine couldn't remember ever feeling as low as he did right then.

Kurt had told Blaine to figure himself out. What exactly did he mean by that? Figure out if he was ga- no, liked guys or not?

Blaine groaned, pulling at his hair. How was he supposed to admit to everyone that he had feelings for a guy if he couldn't even _think_ the term in his mind without blushing?

But it wasn't really that big of a deal, right? There were guys who liked guys everywhere! It wasn't wrong or weird, Kurt had shown him that. But he had never thought about dating another guy before. It wasn't really something that was looked highly upon at McKinley.

And what about Brittany?

Huh, Brittany. Blaine should start with her.

He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed his girlfriend's number.

"Hullo?" she said a few seconds later.

"Britt, it's Blaine."

"Blainey Bear! How are you? Did you want to come over and study?"

"Uh, no. Listen, Brittany, I need to talk to you. Like, a real conversation. No, uh, no sex, alright?"

"Oh, I guess that's alright."

"Great, I'll see you in a bit."

A half hour later, Blaine sat on the end of Brittany's bed with a sullen expression. She sat up against her headboard with a stuffed rainbow unicorn clutched to her chest.

How fitting.

"So let me get this straight," Brittany started. "Well, not straight now, I guess gay. Okay, so let me get this gay; you want to break up with me… because you think you like Kurt?"

"No, Brittany, it's still 'let me get this straight'. The expression doesn't change. And yes, I think so, yes."

"What do you mean you think? You either like him or you don't, Blaine." Blaine blinked at her. "Well, come on, Blainey Bear, you don't just _turn_ gay. Everybody knows that."

He hadn't. This was entirely new to him.

"I-I'm just so confused, Britt." Blaine said, burying his face in his hands.

"I'm confused all the time! Maybe I can help because I've been there," she explained, scooching closer to him, "Answer me this; do you care about Kurt?"

"Yes, more than anything."

"More than me?"

Blaine looked up at her with sad eyes. He nodded slowly. Brittany rubbed her hand in circles on his back. "It's okay. Why do you care about him? How does he make you feel?"

"_Why_ do I care about him? Because- because when I'm with him, I feel like I'm a better person. I feel like I can conquer mountains and solve world hunger and fly-!"

"Well obviously that's because he's a bird," Brittany added.

"But as long as I am with him, I feel like anything is possible, like, it's okay to just be me and him and that's all. And when I'm not with him, I feel broken, like a part of me is missing. He makes me hurt, but not in a bad way. When I look into those shiny blue eyes of his, my heart aches, like, if I can't be nearer to him, it might explode. And-and it's such a weird feeling. People tell me it's not normal to feel this way about another guy but I-I can't help it. Because when he sings, when he dances, when he smiles, when he laughs, I can't help but go weak at the knees.

"I-I like him so much sometimes, I want to cry, Britt! He- he's like a drug to me, like something I can't simply quit. And it's so weird. It can't be normal to feel like this. But he's so beautiful and talented and smart and funny and perfect in every way that I can't _think_ straight! He makes me feel like I want to laugh and cry and sing and explode, but all of that would be okay just so long as I got to be with him. I've never felt like this with anyone before. But it doesn't make any sense because I've always been told that this way of thinking is wrong.

"So why can't I feel like this with someone else? Someone who is more acceptable to society? Someone who people don't mind me being with?"

"Because they're not Kurt," Brittany added.

Blaine breathed heavily and looked at her with a kind smile.

"I'm fairly convinced there is no one else in the world like him," Blaine clarified. "I'm so confused, Britt. I don't know what's come over me."

"Sounds like love," she said matter-of-factly.

Blaine's head whipped around quickly, his eyes wide. "Wh-what?"

"Well, think about it, Blaine. Love isn't supposed to be something you understand. It's something you feel with your heart, not your mind. The only thing you can know for sure is how you feel for that other person, how that person makes you feel, and how you make the other person feel."

Blaine wasn't sure what scared him more, the fact that Brittany was actually making sense or the fact that she was absolutely right. This was the girl who had asked what shape The Pentagon was, after all.

But she was right about one thing.

Blaine was in love with Kurt.

"Brittany," Blaine started, "I'm so sorry. I never meant to lead you on like this. I just, I didn't know that I was- that I was…"

"A unicorn?" she suggested, offering him the stuffed animal in her arms. He laughed and took it from her. He smiled down at the plush doll; it had Kurt's blue eyes.

"I'm sorry about this, Brittany. But would you mind if we, you know, broke it off?"

Brittany's eyes widened, her gaze snapping down to Blaine's lap and back up to his face. "_What?" _

"Oh god, no, Britt," Blaine blushed, putting the unicorn on his lap. "I meant us. I mean, would you mind if I stopped being your boyfriend?"

She looked at him sadly, considering his words.

"You know, this might actually work," she said. "This way Santana and I can keep hooking up and I won't have to worry about her getting mad about you."

"Wait, what?"

"I've got to think on this, Blaine," she retorted, ignoring his outrage. "That's a lot of information for one afternoon and my brain needs to settle. I can give you an answer tomorrow in glee club."

The following day was completely torturous for Blaine. Kurt refused to speak to him for the entire day, walking away from him in the hallways and giving him the cold shoulder all throughout Chemistry. With Brittany's promise of an answer at the end of the day and Kurt's silent treatment, he wanted to die.

Luckily for him, glee finally came and he was ready to ambush Brittany the moment she came in. Of course she came in late, Santana on her arm.

"Mr. Schue?" she asked.

"Yes, what is it, Brittany?"

"I was hoping I could start today off with a song?"

Their teacher looked pleasantly shocked and motioned for her to take the floor. She pointed to Blaine as the band played the opening chords played.

_Remember all the things we wanted  
>Now all our memories they're haunted<br>We were always meant to say goodbye_

_Even with our fists held high  
>It never would've worked out right<br>We were never meant for do or die_

_I want you to know that it doesn't matter  
>Where we take this road someone's gotta go<br>And I want you to know you couldn't have loved me better  
>But I want you to move on so I'm already gone<br>_

Blaine felt like he could cry. There was Brittany, singing her reply to his question from the night before. She looked from him to Santana and back throughout the whole song. Clearly she and Santana had more going on that they had let on.

Her lips curled into a shy smile each time that her eyes and Santana's connected.

_Started with a perfect kiss then we could feel the poison set in  
>Perfect couldn't keep this love alive<br>You know that I love you so, I love you enough to let you go_

_I want you to know that it doesn't matter  
>Where we take this road someone's gotta go<br>And I want you to know you couldn't have loved me better  
>But I want you to move on so I'm already gone<em>

_I'm already gone, already gone  
>You can't make it feel right when you know that it's wrong<br>I'm already gone, already gone  
>There's no moving on so I'm already gone<em>

As the song ended, Blaine stood up and gave his ex-girlfriend a tight hug. He could practically feel Kurt's dagger eyes in his back.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Go get 'im, tiger," she said into his ear.

**Okay, that's it for now! A very special thanks to my lovely, perfect, totally awesome roommate Ceileidh for the "Pentagon" comment, without whom, that question would not have existed. I love that girl. The song was **_**Already Gone**_** by Kelly Clarkson. I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for more because our story is coming to a peak!**


	15. Chapter 15

That afternoon, Blaine began to devise a plan to win Kurt back. After what had happened between them in the Lima Bean parking lot, he was going to have to do something astronomical to regain Kurt's trust. But what? He wasn't good at this sort of thing, let alone with a guy. This was new territory for him.

"Rachel!" Blaine called in the McKinley school parking lot. The short brunette turned on her heel and gave him a soft smile.

"Hello, Blaine."

"Listen, I need your help-"

"If this is about Kurt, you're on your own," she interrupted.

"What? What, no! Please, other than me, you're the closest with Kurt at this school. I need- I need to get him back."

"Blaine," Rachel sighed. "I don't really know what you did to him, but Kurt's is pretty torn up right now."

"You don't know?" he asked.

"No, he wouldn't tell me what really happened. Just that he couldn't see you anymore. That it hurt too much. Blaine, Kurt is a good guy. He might be gay and I know you and Puck look down on that sort of thing, but that's no reason to-"

"I love him," he burst.

Rachel stopped, her mouth hung open with unspoken words and her eyes large in shock. Blaine squared his jaw and looked down at her with as much courage as he could muster. This was the first time he had said it out loud and if he was being honest with himself, it felt so right.

Rachel grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side, behind her car.

"Wh-what?" she whispered.

"I'm in love with him, Rachel. It might have taken me a while to figure it out, but it's true. I can't stand to be away from him. He means everything to me and I will do anything and everything I can to win him back, with or without your help."

Rachel slowly turned her mouth into a smile. She knew that Kurt was in love with Blaine. It was written all over his porcelain face. But this was new information to her. Blaine loved Kurt back. She would have to tell her dads about this.

"Blaine," she started. "What went on between you and him the other day?"

Blaine flushed deep red. "I-I kissed him."

"You what?" Rachel shrieked with excitement, "When? Where?"

"Wednesday afternoon, at the Lima Bean."

"Wait, but why was that so terrible? I mean, if you like him, what's the problem?"

"I sort of hurt him… I didn't mean to, I was just so scared. I'd never kissed a guy before. It just kind of happened. And then he gave me the weirdest expression, I'm sure he was so confused because up until that point I had been completely straight to him, well except for that time we went clubbing-"

"Wait, clubbing?"

"-But then I freaked out and told him that I was straight and that I had made a mistake. I think he took it pretty hard because he hasn't spoken to me since. I-I didn't mean to. I just wasn't honest with myself yet. But now I am. I know what I want and what I want is Kurt."

"Blaine, you hurt him pretty badly," Rachel explained. "I've never seen him like this. He just- just sulks."

"But he seems pretty alright when I see him. Sure he gives me a look that could make a Dementor cry, but he doesn't look _sad_."

"Kurt is an excellent actor," she laughed dryly. "When you're not around, he's a mess."

"I need to win him back, Rachel," Blaine pressed. "I have to let him know how I feel."

"You really screwed this up, Blaine."

"I know. I know I did and that's why I need your help to fix this. _Please_, Rachel!"

She smiled mischievously. "Let's call Finn. I think I have an idea."

"Mr. Schue?" Blaine asked from the back row, raising his hand.

The bell had just rung for glee club to start and all of its members were present and accounted for in their usual places. Next to Brittany, Santana looked happily at her, their hands laced between them. From the other side of Blaine, Puck was leaning over to see around Santana, trying to catch Quinn's eye who smiled slightly, trying to keep from making eye contact. Mercedes groaned from her seat next to him at his faulty attempts to woo Quinn. On the bottom row, Tina and Mike twined their fingers together, completely caught up in each other eyes. Artie sat next to them, sighing. Finn sat obediently next to his girlfriend Rachel who, as always, had a possessive hand on his knee. Rachel looked reassuringly at Blaine.

On Finn's right was Kurt. He sat rim rod straight with one leg crossed over the other and fingers laced around one knee. Today he wore a tight fitting grey sweater that swooped around to reveal both his thin shoulders. His legs were clad in red jeans that must have been painted on because there was no way that they made pants that tight. Blaine, who was directly behind him, could hardly take his eyes off of Kurt' s lean but strong looking bare shoulders.

"Yes, what is it, Blaine?" Mr. Schuster replied.

"I was hoping I could do a song," Blaine rushed; tearing is eyes away from the boy in front of him. "And it actually pertains to this week's lesson of "Flaws"."

"I think that would be a great way to start the class. Take it away, Blaine."

Blaine motioned for Puck and Finn to follow suit. Blaine and Rachel had called Finn yesterday after their talk and told him to meet them at Puck's. A few hours later, the boys had rehearsed a song that Rachel thought might just win Kurt over.

"Here we go, another cliché power pop song by the band o' losers, "We Stinnk"," Santana sighed.

"Tanny, I thought their band was called "Don't Blinnk"?" Brittany whispered.

Santana simply grumbled in response, and scooted closer to her blonde friend.

As Blaine stepped down from the risers, he leaned down close to Kurt's ear.

"It's not for her," he whispered hotly.

Kurt shuddered at the closeness. Blaine pulled away quickly, making his way to the front of the room with the rest of his band.

_It's not for her?_ Kurt wondered. _What the hell does that mean? What's not for whom?_

Blaine took his place on a stool in front of Finn and Puck and took a deep breath. Blaine held no instrument, which was weird enough by itself, but why were they sitting? They always stood for their power rock jams, why sit for this one?

Puck started the opening chords of the song and Kurt knew instantly why; they weren't doing a powerhouse rock song, they were doing an acoustic ballad. Kurt stared hard at Blaine who gazed down during the opening chords. As he sang the opening verse, Blaine looked directly at him:

_When I made up my mind  
>And my heart along with that<br>To live not for myself  
>But I'd forgot, somebody said<br>"Do you know what you are getting yourself into?"_

Oh. That's what he meant_. "It's not for her"._ The song wasn't for Brittany, as everyone surely thought. Blaine was singing to Kurt.

Blaine, trying to seem less obvious than he felt, tried to look away from Kurt, but that was proving to be impossible. Kurt's electric blue eyes watched him closely, as if to trying to figure out Blaine's motives, but the rest of his face remained expressionless.

Finn joined Blaine on the next verse with backing vocals.

_When I finally ironed out  
>All of my priorities<br>And asked God to remove the doubt  
>That makes me so unsure of these<br>Things I ask myself, I ask myself  
>"Do you know what you are getting yourself into?"<em>

_I'm getting into you  
>Because you got to me, in a way words can't describe<br>I'm getting into you  
>Because I've got to be<br>You're essential to survive  
>I'm going to love you with my life<em>

_Please understand me, Kurt, B_laine pleaded silently. _Understand that this is for you._

At this point, Blaine simply could not sit still. He got up from his seat, pushing the stool aside. Puck laughed from behind him. Blaine continued to sing with as much conviction as he could muster.

_When he looked at me and said  
>"I kind of view you as the sun"<em>

Kurt was thrust into a memory. A summer afternoon so many years ago. Golden eyes and yellow roses made of sunlight and smiles.

It was them. Kurt and Blaine. The first day they met back on that playground. And-and the flowers, his mother's golden roses that he had picked and given to Blaine.

_And for a second our eyes met  
>And I met that with a question<br>"Do you know what you are getting yourself into?"_

Kurt's heart pounded in his chest as the curly haired boy pointed to him. Did he realize what this would look like? Did he realize what the others would see? Did this mean that he really had made a decision about the two of them?

_I've been a liar and I'll never amount to  
>The kind of person you deserve to worship you<em>

_You say you will not dwell on what I did but rather what I do you say_

Blaine thought of his time with Kurt as children, when things were simpler; Before the Bubbs had hurt them, before Kurt's mother had died, before Blaine's mother had run away, before Kurt had gone to Dalton.

He looked at the stunned countertenor with smoldering honey eyes, emphasizing the next line. He turned slowly and took his place at the front of the room. Blaine gazed in Kurt's direction again.

_This is it, _he thought. _I'm laying it all out on the line for him right now._

_I love you and that's what you are getting yourself into_

_I'm getting into you  
>Because you got to me, in a way words can't describe<br>I'm getting into you  
>Because I've got to be<br>You're essential to survive  
>I'm going to love you with my life<em>

_He said, I love you and that's what you are getting yourself into_

As the song faded out, the room burst into a polite applause, but the two boys might as well have been on a different planet. Blaine's sunny eyes bore right into Kurt's blue ones, only seeing each other. Each knew that they had a lot to discuss, but it was going to have to wait until glee was over.

"As nice as that was, Blaine," Mr. Schue said as the clapping died down, "That wasn't relevant to this week's lesson. The whole song was about the person's perfection and love, not about flaws."

"No. It wasn't supposed to be about the person's flaws," Blaine responded. He turned away from his teacher's gaze, staring directly at Kurt as he spoke. "It was about mine."

Kurt gaped at him.

"Oh, well, then I guess that was sort of relevant. You boys can take your seats." Mr. Schue continued walking back up to the whiteboard on the wall, "But let's keep working on it. We need to find something really solid for Regional's, guys! We need something that will knock the socks off of those judges! Now, some of you are having trouble with…"

As Blaine strode back to his seat, he brushed Kurt's shoulder lightly, sending a shock between them.

_That was static,_ Kurt told himself. _That was just static, right?_

As the class began to file out, Kurt gathered his bag slowly, making sure to be one of the last people out of the class. As Blaine passed him, Kurt made eye contact with the dark haired boy. As he walked away, Kurt almost felt like everything had slowed down into slow motion. The look was brief, but purposeful; A plea maybe.

Kurt grabbed his bag quickly and headed to his locker. He still felt lightheaded from Blaine's performance. He still couldn't understand what Blaine had been thinking, but he was going to set this straight. He snatched the books he needed for his homework that night and closed his locker, heading over to Blaine's. As he predicted, Blaine was there, dreamy as ever, reaching on his tiptoes to get a book from the top shelf. Kurt smiled. After all these years, not much had changed.

Kurt stood rigid in front of Blaine who looked back at him like deer in headlights.

"Blaine," Kurt breathed. Blaine blinked slowly, as if relishing the sound of Kurt's voice.

"Yes?" he said after a moment.

"We need to talk."

Blaine's gaze raked over Kurt's face like he was trying to find the underlying meaning beneath his words.

"Uh, yeah, yeah okay. When?"

"Now. Is my house alright?"

"Oh, sure, that's fine."

"I'll drive," Kurt said as he turned on his heel, leaving Blaine to scramble after him.

The ride over to the Hummel-Hudson house was anything but comfortable. The radio played quietly, trying to fill the awkward space that had been created. Neither Kurt nor Blaine spoke on the ride over. Blaine looked out the side window, seemingly fascinated with the houses whizzing past. It was only when Kurt cut the engine that he realized they had made it to the house.

"Are you sure it's all right if I'm here, Kurt?" he said, looking up at the familiar blue house he knew from years ago. "Your dad didn't seem too fond of me the last time I saw him and I don't want to intrude on anything."

"Blaine, please, the last time he saw you was when we were twelve. We were injured and I think it's safe to say he was a little frazzled," Kurt laughed, unlocking the door. He sauntered in, hanging up his coat in the nearby closet and offered to take Blaine's. Blaine thanked him, handing him his jacket. "Besides, my Dad's working late on a car that has to be done before tomorrow, Carol has the night shift, and Finn has football practice until 5:30."

_So then we're alone,_ Blaine thought to himself. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his mind from wandering where it shouldn't.

He followed Kurt up the stairs to his room. As expected, Kurt's room was ornately furnished in the latest fashions. He had a queen-sized bed in the center of the room, made with what looked like very expensive linens.

Only Kurt.

"So Blaine," he started, sitting on the edge of the bed. Blaine followed suit, sitting up against the headboard with his knees tucked under his chin.

"So, Kurt."

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Blaine played awkwardly with his hands, avoiding Kurt's glare.

"Don't be cute," Kurt hissed. "You know damn well what."

"The song?"

"No, your outfit. Of course the song! I don't understand, Blaine. Are you trying to torture me? Are you trying to hurt me? Break me? What?"

"I think I figured it out…" Blaine muttered.

"Figured what out? That you secretly hate me? That you like to torment people?"

"No. Me." Blaine finally met Kurt's eyes. The taller boy's expression dropped and Blaine took it as his opportunity to continue. "You told me to get back to you once I figured myself out. Kurt, you have to understand, I- I've never met anyone like you. Ever. When you transferred schools all those years ago, I couldn't handle it. My parents had to keep a close watch on me, worried that I might do something to myself. That's why they gave me a guitar, to focus on something other than how much I missed you. And then my mother left and I felt like I had no one left in the world that cared about me. So I became what others wanted me to be so that they would like me.

"I kept it up for a while, playing guitar and eventually joining a band, learning about sports and how to play them, getting the hottest girls in school to date me, but it never really stopped that little nagging part of my brain that said, 'This isn't right. This isn't what you want.'" Blaine's shifted on the bed, stretching out his legs. His mouth was moving a mile a minute, but he couldn't stop now. This was it. He had to keep going.

"Then I went to Dalton and my whole world flipped inside out. That voice- that voice wasn't yelling at me anymore. Instead, it was telling me to see you more, talk to you more, to learn everything I could about you because that's what really mattered to me. I won't lie to you, Kurt. I tried to fight it. I did, because everyone around me, Puck and Brittany, were telling me that it was wrong. But it's proved to be impossible.

"You move me, Kurt," he said, gazing hard into Kurt's large blue eyes that stared back at him without a word. "I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you before, but now I know that I will do anything in my power to make you happy."

"And Brittany?" Kurt whispered after a minute.

"I told her," Kurt's eyes widened even more, if that were even possible. Blaine couldn't stop his heart from beating faster as those gorgeous blue eyes watched him carefully. "I told her after our fight in the parking lot. I told her about you, Kurt. How you make me feel, how I'm confused and excited when I see you, how it's only you that I feel this with. At first, she didn't know what to think but ultimately, she said that she understood and that she wanted me to be happy."

Kurt sat silent for a long time. Blaine had expected this. It was a lot to take in.

"When?" Kurt said suddenly.

"What?"

"When did you know that you had- had feelings for me…?"

"I think it was the very first time I took your hand," Blaine whispered, more to himself than to Kurt. "That spark. That ever present spark that shoots through me every time your skin touches mine. Kurt, I- please. Please forgive me. I've caused you so much trouble. I can tell. Just say you forgive me."

Kurt made no reply. He sat at the edge of the bed, torso twisted so he could look into Blaine's eyes. Blaine tried his hardest to look sincere, to show Kurt that this is what he really wanted. That Blaine had finally come to terms with his sexuality, and Kurt was the one he had his heart set on.

Kurt climbed up onto the bed, crawling toward Blaine. Instead of stopping where Blaine's legs were stretched out, Kurt continued over them until he was straddling the shorter boy and was only a few short inches from his face.

They gazed into each other's eye for what seemed like an eternity. Kurt's expression was hard to read, conflicted with an inner battle. This worried Blaine. Maybe he had said too much. Maybe this was a bad time. Maybe Kurt didn't like him at all and he disgusted him. Blaine suddenly became very worried.

"Kurt I-"

But Blaine was unable to finish his sentence. Kurt leaned forward and captured his lips in a gentle kiss. Blaine reached his hand to the back of Kurt's neck so he could pull him closer. Sweet, slow, and easily they moved together. Kurt's lips were soft but firm at the same time against his. That familiar spark flooded through them, warming them from the inside out. But this time, it was more intense, as if the proverbial dial had been turned up to maximum power. Blaine sighed into the kiss; this was right, this was where he should be. Their first kiss had been hard and fast, full of misunderstandings and confusion. But this, their second kiss, was anything but those things. They stayed like that for a while, just kissing and holding on to each other.

Blaine's stomach twisted as he slipped his tongue out to tickle at Kurt's lips, asking for entrance.

Kurt pulled away.

"Kurt-"

"Blaine," Kurt sighed. "Are you sure about this? I can't- I don't think my heart can take it if you're not able to-"

"Kurt, no, please, l have never been more sure about anything. You're so amazing, Kurt. I should have told you, back when we were kids, but then you got hurt and your dad took you away and I-I'm so sorry." Blaine pulled at his curly hair in frustration.

"Don't be." He pulled Blaine's hands away and held them in his own. "Don't ever be sorry, Blaine. Not ever. God, I've had feelings for you too, Blaine, ever since we were kids. But I was too scared to show it. But don't ever be sorry. Just be with me, that is all that matters."

"I'm not going anywhere," Blaine whispered, leaning his forehead against Kurt's.

"Me neither. Not ever again."

Blaine smiled softly, nuzzling his forehead against Kurt's as a single tear escaped his eye.

_Finally._

**Huzzah! Our boys finally got together! I hope you liked it! The song used in this chapter is called **_**Getting into You**_** by Relient K. I know I changed some of the words a little bit, but honestly, if it's slurred enough, it kind of sounds like what he actually says. **

**Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter. Though they may finally be together, who's to say that there won't be bumps in the road?**


	16. Chapter 16

It was amazing how fast word traveled. After their talk on Friday, Kurt and Blaine had spent the entire weekend together. On Saturday night, they spent the night in, watching a movie at Blaine's house. Blaine was still entirely too afraid of Kurt's father to announce their relationship to him and because they wanted to relax somewhere, they decided to go back to the Anderson household. It was also a plus that Blaine's father was away on business again.

Sunday morning Kurt called Blaine and told him to be ready in an hour and to dress warmly. They made their way to the park and set up a picnic of chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider, away from straying eyes, or so they thought. Kurt's noble intentions were shattered when Blaine caught sight of some chocolate stuck to the corner of Kurt's mouth.

By the time Monday rolled around, it seemed as though everyone knew about them. They entered school together that morning, watching the faces that turned and stared.

Blaine felt his stomach flip under their scrutinizing eyes. He let his gaze drop to the floor as his face flushed bright red. Kurt saw his expression and gave his shoulder a squeeze with a raised brow. Blaine's head snapped up to look into those captivating galaxies people so naively called Kurt's eyes. God, Kurt looked good that day. His hair was styled just so; he wore a dark blue v-neck sweater that complemented his skin tone perfectly and mustard yellow pants. Blaine smiled at him reassuringly. He was so happy to finally be with Kurt. After all they had been through, it only seemed right that they would be able to be together.

"Blaine, are-are you alright?" There was fear in his voice, as if he was afraid that Blaine would up and run away from him.

_Let them think whatever the fuck they want,_ Blaine thought.

He nodded his head and took Kurt's hand.

"Never better."

They continued on their way to their lockers, fingers laced.

Suddenly, from around the corner, two identical blonde heads came barreling down the hall toward them. Jeremy Bubb, his cruel green eyes gleaming with excitement, thrust the first slushie directly into Blaine's face. His twin, James, threw a second slushie onto Kurt.

"_Agh!"_ Kurt cried. Kurt looked at his attacker, James, who had the most confusing expression on his face; a mix of sadness and plea.

"Faggots!" Jeremy bellowed down the hall, pulling his brother behind him.

Kurt wiped the frozen drink out of his eyes, beginning to shiver.

"_Fuck_," Blaine slurred, wiping the blue slushie off of himself. "Kurt, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's get this off of us before class starts," he said, taking Blaine's hand and leading him into the nearest bathroom.

Kurt started the warm water and ran his sticky hands under it. Blaine took a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped the excess drink from his face. He couldn't help but watch Kurt as he carefully extracted slushie from his well-groomed hair. He bent close to the mirror, leaving his ass on full display for Blaine to enjoy.

Blaine blushed to his roots. He had never really had those sorts of thoughts before.

He felt himself sliding up behind Kurt and wrapping his arms around his waist.

Kurt laughed. "Can I help you?"

"Mmm, no, I'm all clean, thanks," Blaine hummed into his neck.

"Well that's good?" Kurt smiled, looking down at him.

Kurt smelled like heaven, like roses and coffee and raspberry flavoring. Blaine nuzzled his nose into Kurt, enjoying his soft porcelain skin. Kurt rolled his head back slightly, onto Blaine's shoulder. Blaine took the opportunity to attach his lips to Kurt's neck. He shivered, most certainly not from the slushie.

Blaine spun him around, pushing him onto the sink. "But you know," he said, his eyes exploring Kurt's face, "Your face still has some slushie on it."

"It does?" Kurt made to look in the mirror but Blaine held him in place.

"Mhmm," he purred. "I can help with that."

Blaine nuzzled his face into Kurt's neck, kissing at the place where his throat and shoulder connected. He made a line of short, wet kisses up his neck, over his jaw and at the corner of his mouth.

Blaine pulled back, his eyes dark with an emotion that Kurt had never seen, but it almost sent him over the edge, "Mmmm, blue raspberry. My favorite."

"Gah,"

_Very Articulate, Hummel. Nice going,_ Kurt scolded himself.

Blaine chuckled, pressing a slow, teasing kiss to Kurt's lips. Kurt sighed into his touch. Blaine ran his tongue over Kurt's mouth and he gasped at the action. The dark haired boy moved his mouth to his Kurt's cheek, licking slow, lazy lines across his face.

"B-Blaine," Kurt sputtered raising his neck so that Blaine could have better access. "S-someone could walk in!"

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, nipping at the sensitive spot at the base of his neck.

"N-no," he gasped.

Blaine trailed up to Kurt's ear, his breath hot on his skin. "Relax, Kurt." He shot his tongue out to lick the shell of his ear, earning a shudder from the taller boy. Kurt pulled Blaine closer, grabbing onto his shoulders. His head was swimming. Sure, they had kissed before, but that had always been something sweet and private. But this, this new type of affection that Blaine was expressing was something that Kurt could get used to.

"Did you want to go to class now?" Blaine teased, his breath sending chills along the path his tongue had made.

"Not just yet," Kurt groaned, forcefully pulling Blaine's face to his. Blaine immediately slid his tongue across Kurt's bottom lip as he opened his mouth obediently. Blaine's tongue was a talented one for sure, with undoubtedly a lot of practice. Kurt felt like he was on fire, this was so new, but he felt like he need this new feeling, and that Blaine was the perfect person to be with.

"Whoa!" The two boys tore away from one another with a start. James Bubb stood in the doorway of the bathroom, his eyes impossibly wide. Blaine glared at him, standing between Kurt and the blue-eyed twin. Kurt's face flushed six different shades of red. "I, uh, I s-sorry!" he stammered, rushing out of the room as quickly as he came.

Blaine turned and looked at Kurt who had hopped off the sink and sunk against the far wall. He stood bent over himself, his hand covering his face and his shoulders shaking.

_Shit_. Blaine thought.

"Kurt, I'm sorry are you-"

Kurt's head snapped up to reveal him laughing hysterically. Blaine's smile slowly crept into a giggle, then to a laugh as the two of them laughed together.

Blaine motioned Kurt to him, who threw his arm around Blaine's shoulders and they exited the bathroom together.

Before they knew it, the weeks had flown by and Regionals was upon them. They couldn't contain their excitement as they boarded the bus that would bring them one step closer to Nationals. The bus ride to the concert hall was long but pleasant. They practiced their set list a few times over, certain that they had their harmonies down.

Kurt and Blaine sat across from Finn and Rachel. Kurt talked mainly to them on the way there, leaning against Blaine who sat by the window and talked to Puck and Mike who sat in front of them.

Kurt couldn't help but smile. He couldn't remember ever being so happy. By being home and going to McKinley, Kurt had gotten a chance to become closer with Finn. Before, he and Finn never really spoke and after the wedding, Kurt had just gone back to Dalton, never getting a chance for brotherly bonding. Now, he and Finn had a chance to really get to know each other.

Kurt had also made a new, very close friend with Rachel. Seeing as she was dating her brother, Rachel was over at the house all the time. The two of them were able to have girl time together and even have sleepovers (a bonus Finn thanked Kurt for). They listened to the same music and found that they both wanted to eventually end up in New York.

And then there was Blaine, his perfect, beautiful boyfriend. Boyfriend. Kurt smiled. Blaine was his boyfriend now. It had finally happened. After years of problems and heartache and separation, they had conquered it all. When they had become public to the New Directions, Blaine had been tentative and worried about their reactions. Luckily, they were all very accepting of their relationship and some of them, particularly Rachel, were infinitely happy for them.

Kurt leaned his head back, gazing up at him, his dark hair curling over his forehead. Blaine's eyes sparkled as he laughed at something Puck had said. He smiled fondly at him; Blaine's laughter was like music to Kurt's ears.

He looked down at Kurt with shining honey eyes and it made Kurt's stomach flip. God he was beautiful. And he was all his. Blaine smiled down at him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. Kurt sighed into the touch and settled into his side enjoying the last leg of the ride.

Once they had done everything they needed to in the green room, the New Directions headed to the audience to find their seats, as they were last to perform. As they passed through the backstage wings, Kurt paused at the sight of blue blazers crowding around the curtain that lead to the stage. Blaine stopped short, still holding Kurt's hand, and stared after him.

Kurt immediately recognized Jeff, his bright yellow hair practically glowing compared to the rest of the dark haired Warblers. He laughed with the boy next to him, who Kurt barely even recognized, but realized was Sam, the boy he had traded places with. So Sam had joined the Warblers? Kurt couldn't blame him; they really were a great group of guys.

"Kurt?"

"Huh?" He whipped his head around to find that Blaine was still standing with him. The other members of the New Directions had long since left.

"Are you alright?" Blaine asked in a worried tone.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

Blaine followed his gaze to look at the Warblers. He looked back at him, his brow knit.

"Aw, you miss them."

Kurt nodded slowly, feeling his throat clenching. Why was he feeling like this? Here he was with the most perfect guy in the world and at present all he could think about were boys in blue blazers with red piping.

"Why don't you go and talk to them?"

"Oh. Oh no, I couldn't," Kurt stammered.

"Come on, Kurt. I'm sure they miss you just as much as you miss them."

"If you remember correctly, Blaine, we didn't part on the best of terms. I mean, it was _my_ fault we didn't win Sectionals-"

"Kurt-"

"-And it was _my_ choice to let someone else have a solo!"

Blaine took hold of Kurt's face to get his attention. "Kurt, relax. You're over reacting."

"How could you possibly know that?" Kurt whimpered.

"Because that blonde dude has been waving like a fool and smiling in our direction for the past five minutes."

Kurt turned on his heel and sure enough, there was Jeff, waving his arms over his head to get Kurt's attention.

"Come on," Blaine coaxed, pulling Kurt by the hand.

"Kurt!" Jeff shouted as they approached.

Several Warblers shushed him.

"Jeff," Wes scolded, "We're trying to watch The Harmonies perfo- Oh my god, Kurt!"

"Hey, Wes," Kurt said, shyly.

"Whoa, hey, is that Kurt?"

"Kurt Hummel?"

Slowly, the other Warblers noticed their former soloist with excitement.

"It's so great to see you! How's your new school going?" Wes asked.

"It's good! I've made a lot of friends and obviously I'm in the glee club and oh!" Kurt pulled Blaine front and center. "This is Blaine."

Blaine put on his best badass face he could. There was no way he was going to be intimidated by a bunch of guys in school uniforms.

"And who is Blaine?" Jeff asked accusingly.

Kurt opened his mouth but could say nothing. They had been pretty safe about their relationship, not telling anyone who didn't really need to know, not their parents and not anyone outside of the New Directions. And with Blaine just coming to terms with his sexuality, Kurt wasn't sure if he would be willing to call Kurt his-

"Boyfriend." Blaine answered. "I'm Kurt's boyfriend."

Kurt's eyes welled up as he looked at Blaine, a wide smile spreading across his face. Blaine looked at him, his eyes shining in the dimly lit backstage.

Kurt nodded in agreement.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our very own Benedict Arnold." Emmett Adams, flanked by Collin Able and Garrett Ames stepped out of the sea of blue blazers. "Hey there, Kurt."

"The A-Team," Kurt glared. Blaine squeezed his hand. "Nice to see you, Emmett."

"So what brings you here, Hummel? Thought you'd watch your old team take home the trophy?"

"The only trophy you will be taking home is the one for smallest dick and biggest ego." Blaine snapped.

Several of the Warblers laughed.

"_Blaine_," Kurt hissed.

"What's this?" Emmett growled circling around to get better access at Blaine. "Found yourself a new toy, Hummel? Can I play with him?"

Kurt stepped in front of him, blocking Emmett's path. "_Back off_, Emmett!" Kurt spat through his teeth.

"Protective, are we? Come on, it's only kind to share-"

"Emmett, let it go," Jeff said, stepping between him and the two boys.

The taller boy whipped around, glaring at Jeff.

"Got something to say, Jeff?" he asked, advancing on him.

"Yes," Nick spoke up, standing his ground with Jeff. "Ever since Kurt left and you have taken his place, you have been an impossible prick and a complete asshole!"

"Sorry," Emmett scoffed. "I can't help it if I'm better than the rest of you."

"But you're not, Emmett," Jeff added. "You used to complain that Kurt had all the solos but at least he wasn't a dick about it. He listened to our opinions and cared about what we thought. You pick your songs just for you and you don't care about anyone else but yourself!"

Kurt watched as the Warblers ganged up on Emmett and his heart filled with pride. He had always thought that the Warblers resented him and here they were, defending him.

"You know what, Emmett," Wes said. "I think Warbler Jeff might be better suited for today's performance."

"_What?_" Emmett bellowed. "You can't do that!"

"We are a democracy, Emmett. All in favor?" All of the Warblers, minus Emmett, raised their hands.

"Collin! Garrett!" Emmett shrieked.

"Honestly, man," Garrett shrugged. "You really have been a dick."

"When we agreed to give you the lead, you promised that we would be featured too." Collin added. "But all you've ever cared about is yourself and we're sick of it."

"But- but we'll loose!"

"Even if we do loose, Emmett," Wes said stepping forward. "We'll have done it with dignity. You will be taking Jeff's place in the fourth harmony. That is final."

The lights flashed signaling for the Warblers to take their places on the stage. With a hugs and wishing of luck, Kurt said goodbye to his friends as he and Blaine left to find their seats with the New Directions.

"I can't believe they stood up for us like that." Kurt gasped as they sat down.

"You're something worth fighting for, Kurt," Blaine smiled, taking his hand again and giving it a squeeze.

Over the speakers, the Warblers were introduced as the backup singers started up fading into the opening chords. Kurt could never get over the amazing ability the Warblers had to create an entire band solely with their voices. They started in quietly, building into a symphony of voices. Jeff emerged from the group, a huge smile on his face, as he sang the opening verse:

_The more you see the less you know  
>The less you find out as you go<br>I knew much more then, than I do now_

_Neon heart day glow eyes  
>A city lit by fireflies<br>They're advertising in the skies  
>For people like us<em>

_And I miss you when you're not around  
>I'm getting ready to leave the ground<br>_

Collin's phenomenal beat boxing skills shined through the music break and the Warblers danced around the stage in perfect unison.

_Oh, you look so beautiful tonight  
>In the city of blinding lights<br>_

Jeff rushed to the front of the stage, basking in the glow of his solo moment.

_Time, time, time, time, time, time  
>Won't leave me as I am<br>But time won't take the boy out of this man_

_Oh, you look so beautiful tonight  
>Oh, you look so beautiful tonight<br>Oh, you look so beautiful tonight  
>In the city of blinding lights<br>_

The room erupted into deafening applause, Kurt surely the loudest. Blaine tapped Kurt on the shoulder, telling him it was their turn to take the stage. As the Warblers filed off, Kurt congratulated them with wide smiles. Several of them wished him luck at he ran out to take his place with the New Directions.

Their song went off without a hitch. Mercedes opened up with a jaw-dropping ballad followed by an upbeat dance number lead by Brittany and Mike. The last song was a huge group number that featured everyone with at least one solo each.

As the judges revealed the winners each team was sick with excitement. In third place were The Harmonies who graciously took their award and left the stage. In second place came the Warblers, putting the New Directions through to Nationals.

Kurt jumped into Blaine's arms, hugging him tightly in celebration. As Blaine spun him around, Kurt couldn't help but notice the disappointed faces of the Warblers as they exited the stage.

On the bus ride home, the New Directions celebrated loudly, singing songs and congratulating each other. Kurt sat in the back with his head pressed against the window, staring intently outside. Blaine plopped down next to him, throwing a football that Puck had brought back to him.

"Kurt?" Blaine said with a nudge to Kurt's side. "Are you alright?"

He looked at him with heavy eyes and smiled faintly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You don't seem okay. What's the matter?"

"It's the competition," Kurt sighed.

"What, Nationals? We've got this in the bag, Kurt! Don't worry about it, we'll beat-"

"No, Blaine, don't you get it? There won't be a Nationals for me," Blaine blinked, trying to understand. "I have to go back to Dalton soon. My exchange is almost up and when I go back, there will be no Nationals, there'll be no notes in Chemistry class, or New Directions, or you everyday. It's all going to change, Blaine, and I don't want it to.

"McKinley has actually been good for me. I feel like I've learned something that I never could have at Dalton. I've learned to open up to people, to you. And I don't want to loose that. I'm-I'm scared that I'm going to turn back into that friendless shut in who showed no emotion. I've made friends here, Blaine. With Rachel and Finn and even Puck… and-and most of all, with you. I don't want all of that to go away!"

Kurt was openly sobbing now, trying his best to hide his face from Blaine. Blaine pulled Kurt to him, holding him tightly as Kurt cried into his shoulder.

"Kurt, shhh, it's okay, I'm here, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere," Blaine soothed into his ear.

"B-but I am!"

"No, you might be physically somewhere else, but Kurt, you won't be leaving us anytime soon. You have changed me, Kurt, and I care for you far too much to let anything get in our way, I promise."

Kurt's sobs died down as he looked into Blaine's reassuring golden eyes.

"You're right," he whispered, leaning his forehead against Blaine's. "Nothing is going to split us up."

Blaine smiled a smile that made Kurt's stomach flutter wildly. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Kurt's lips as if sealing the deal.

"Yo, Anderson," Puck bellowed. "Go long, I wanna see if I can throw this ball without hitting the ceiling!"

Blaine chuckled, giving Kurt one last, sweet kiss and turned to receive Pucks throw.

It was a few days later when they were filing out of the choir room, when Kurt paused to wait for a frantic looking Blaine.

"So when does your dad come home?" Kurt asked, watching Blaine pack his bag in a hurry.

"Like, a half an hour! I promised him the last time he was home that I would clean the whole house," he explained, heading for the door, Kurt hot on his heels.

"And you haven't done a thing, have you?"

"No."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Kurt said, pushing him against the wall next to the door, pinning Blaine's arms above his head. "I'm sure I can help you with _something_."

Blaine's eyes seemed to darken three shades at the accusation. "I uh, I-I uh, um-"

"_Blaine_," he groaned, pressing, nuzzling into his neck with a blush high in his face. "Don't you want me to help you?"

Feeling bold, Kurt began kissing his neck, trailing his tongue over the sensitive skin there. He ran his hands over his boyfriend's strong arms and down his chest. Blaine's hands moved up to Kurt's shoulders, pulling him in closer.

Kurt smirked at him and moved in for a kiss that Blaine met hungrily.

_What had gotten into him?_ Blaine wondered. Not that he was complaining at all but Kurt had never really been the one to initiate intimate moments. Blaine tilted his head back, giving Kurt better access. He obliged by nipping harshly at his neck.

"K-Kurt," he gasped.

"God _damn it_, Blaine," Kurt growled, his voice huskier than usual. "You just look so hot today. The way your shirt shows off your perfect muscles and how those jeans hug your ass," as emphasis, Kurt moved his hands down to grab him from behind.

"_Kurt!"_

"Shhh," Kurt chuckled. "Someone will hear you."

"I-I, Kurt, my d-dad will be home s-soon."

Kurt groaned, pulling away from him. "You really know how to ruin a mood, Blaine Anderson."

"Wait, no!" Blaine begged, "You can't stop now!"

"Blaine, you're the one who brought up your father while making out. We're done." Blaine frowned. "Look, you clean your house and we can go to that new action movie you wanted to see."

"But you hate action movies," he said, walking up to him and leaning his forehead against Kurt's.

"I said we could go too it, I didn't say I was going to watch it." Kurt said with a kiss, turning Blaine by the shoulders and giving him a firm slap on the butt, sending him on his way.

Blaine groaned, turning over his shoulder to sulk out of the room.

Kurt smiled, sitting at the piano triumphantly.

"Hummel?"

Kurt turned to see James Bubb standing not five feet away from him with a slushie in hand. Kurt's eyes widened with fear.

_No. No not again. Not him. Not one of them._

"You stay away from me!" Kurt shouted, trying to sound braver than he felt.

James looked down at the red drink in his hand, then back up to Kurt as if in panic. "Oh, oh no, it's for you! Well, not that way. But it's to drink. I noticed the last time you got slushied with the cherry flavor, you licked your lips and I thought I might bring you one."

Kurt's eyes narrowed at him as he pushed himself against the wall, trying to create some space between himself and the tall blonde in front of him.

"No, K-Kurt, listen to me, please," he pressed, putting up his free hand in surrender. "I just want to talk-"

"I have nothing to say to you," Kurt snapped. "After what you and your brothers have done to Blaine and I, how can you expect me to forgive you, James?" The twin gawked at him." What?"

"You-you know my name?"

"Of course I do! How could I forget the name of my childhood tormentor?"

"How did you know that I'm James and not Jeremy?"

"Oh," Kurt blinked. "Well, I guess it's your eyes. His are green and yours are blue-"

"Oh."

"-But there's more to it than that. Your brother's have always seemed harsher, more intimidating, but yours, yours are softer and almost kinder, like there's more to you than the hostile exterior you portray." James blushed and it caught Kurt off guard. "What do you want, James?"

"Just to talk to you," he explained. "You're the only one I can turn to right now."

"Why me?"

"Because you've gone through this before…"

Kurt crossed his arms impenitently. "I'm not following."

"Look, Kurt, don't make me say it out loud." Kurt only stared at him in response. James sighed. "I-I'm gay."

Kurt felt like someone had punched him in the gut. _What?_ How? How could someone who had beaten him and Blaine within an inch of their lives possibly be gay too?

"I don't understand," Kurt retorted.

"I know it might not make sense to you, but please hear me out," he pleaded.

Kurt nodded for him to continue.

"You see, after you left McKinley Middle School, I started to get these weird feelings towards other guys. I actually think I had a crush on Finn Hudson at one point," he laughed. "But I could never act on it because of my family. I mean, could you imagine? If I had come out to parents or my brothers? They would kill me! So I stay as far in the closet as I can, hoping that one day they might understand and love me the way they always have."

"James," Kurt said with kindness he didn't know he could have toward the now shivering blonde boy. "You'll never know how they will react if you don't tell them."

"I can't!" He wailed, coiling in on himself, "Don't you get it? Jeremy will _kill_ me."

"And your other brother Aaron?"

"He's been in jail for two year now. Attempted armed robbery. He shot at a cop."

_Nice_, Kurt thought.

"I think you would be surprised what brotherly love can do, James."

James look down at him with watery blue eyes. "No, no, you wouldn't understand-"

"What wouldn't I understand?" Kurt retorted. He took a deep breath to calm himself and started again. "Did you know that Finn Hudson is actually my stepbrother?"

James blushed right to his roots. "Oh, _shit_. Please don't tell him about the crush thing! The football team would never let me live it down!"

"Relax, relax, I've been there, believe me. You know, before we were family."

James nodded.

"When my dad first married his mom, we were not very close and to be honest, he had said his fair share of slurs against me and my sexuality. Last year when my dad suffered from a heart attack, I felt like all the good had been sucked out of the world. I felt so alone, trapped at Dalton, unable to know what was going on or how his progress was going. It was as if we had been sucked out of the world. But then Finn called me up one afternoon and he offered to pick me up and bring me to see my father. Dalton is a pretty far away, but Finn understood how important it was for me to be with my dad. We bonded over that experience and after my dad got better, I could honestly call Finn my brother. And now? I'm here at McKinley and I see him more than I ever have. And when Blaine and I got together, he was so supportive. It's a brotherly bond that no one and nothing can break, James. Don't ever underestimate it."

James was openly crying at this point. Kurt looked at him, unsure of what to do. Here was a boy who had tortured him throughout his entire childhood. Here was a boy whose own brother had broken his leg and simply stood and watched it happen. Here was a boy who had forced him to transfer schools out of fear. And here was a boy who was crying in front of him, begging for help and acceptance.

"James."

"Kurt," he choked. "Kurt, I can't do it. I can't. Jeremy he won't-"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

James stopped. "What?"

"To tell your brother. Do you want me to go with you?"

James stared at him, clearly torn. Kurt took him by the wrist leading him from the room.

"Come on," he said. "I'm sure he's still around somewhere."

James wiped his eyes quickly and pulled his hand away from Kurt.

"No," he sniffed. "No, this is something I need to do on my own. Thank you, Kurt."

Kurt smiled at him and pulled James in for a hug.

"If you ever need anything, you can always come to me."

Later that night Kurt sat at his piano plucking out chords halfheartedly. He had told his father about James and the conversation the two of them had had, leaving out the fact that James was one of his bullies from years past. He had relatively understood and told Kurt that if his friend needed any help that he was always welcome in their home.

Burt and Carole turned in for the night, wishing Kurt goodnight as they went.

He ran his hands through his hair, trying to concentrate on his practice. His fingers curled over the keys to play the opening chords.

Kurt groaned in frustration as he heard a knock at the door.

"Finn, I swear to god!"

He strode across the living room to the front door; yanking it open, ready to yell at his stepbrother. Instead of the awkward football player he found someone else.

"James!" He gawked. "What are you doing here?"

The blue-eyed twin's lip quivered as he tried his hardest to keep his face composed.

"Come in, come in," Kurt pulled the taller boy inside, tugging off his coat and leading him to the couch. "What's going on?"

"Kurt," he choked. "Kurt-Kurt."

Tears felling from James' eyes as he began to shake.

"Shhh," he soothed, rubbing his back. "It's okay, it's okay. Just tell me what happened."

"They kicked me out."

"What?"

"They kicked me out, Kurt. I went home after we talked and I told my mom and Jeremy. I told them about me and that even though I'm gay I'm still the same person and nothing should change. But Jeremy freaked out and told me that was an abomination or something and that I wasn't his brother anymore. And-and then he- he slapped me. My mom, she told me to get out of her house. To-to leave because she couldn't handle it and Jeremy-" James was hysterical at this point. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "So I ran. I didn't even have time to pack a bag or anything. The last thing I saw was Jeremy. He was crying. He was crying into his hands and all I could think about was that I was my fault."

"No, no, James, no," Kurt soothed. "Nothing is anyone's fault."

James cried into Kurt's shoulder.

"But they're my family. How can they suddenly just turn on me like that? They're my family, Kurt. How could they turn on me?"

"I'd like to think that they haven't, not yet. Sometimes it's a lot of information to take all at once and people don't know how to react to it. I mean when Blaine realized who he was, he had a bit of a freak out too."

"I don't even have a place to go," he sniffed.

"You can stay here," Kurt offered. "I'll get you some blankets and a pillow from Finn's room. Everything is going to be okay, James. You'll see."

James smiled weakly at him and Kurt returned it. He scurried down the hall to the linen closet, grabbing a few blankets. He popped into Finn's room and took one of his five pillows; he never could understand why he needed so many.

Kurt hurried back to the living room to find James sitting in the exact same place as he had left him. Kurt eased him down and placed a blanket over him

"Now, I'm just going to finish my piano practice and then I'll leave you alone, all right?"

James nodded tiredly.

Kurt patted him on the shoulder and returned to his place at the piano. Once again he softly played the opening chords of a song.

From behind him, Kurt heard James stirring from his place on that couch. He sat down next to Kurt, his eyes still red. Kurt continued to play, smiling softly to him.

And that's when James surprised Kurt for the umpteenth time that day; he began to sing.

_I watched the proverbial sunrise  
>Coming up over the Pacific and<br>You might think I'm losing my mind,  
>But I will shy away from the specifics...<em>

_This is no place to try and live my life._

_Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.  
>See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.<br>Stop right there. Well I never should have said  
>That it's the very moment that<br>I wish that I could take back.  
><em>

Kurt could feel his heart breaking as he internally kicked himself for choosing to play this song. Poor James sang with more conviction than Kurt thought possible.

James put a hand on Kurt's knee causing him to look up. As James sang the next verse, he looked directly at Kurt.

_I'm sorry for the person I became.  
>I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.<br>I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again  
>'cause who I am hates who I've been.<br>Who I am hates who I've been._

_I talked to absolutely no one.  
>Couldn't keep to myself enough.<br>And the things bottled inside have finally begun  
>To create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up.<br>And I can't let that happen again  
>'cause then you'll see my heart<br>In the saddest state it's ever been._

_This is no place to try and live my life._

_Who I am hates who I've been  
>And who I am will take the second chance you gave me.<br>Who I am hates who I've been  
>'cause who I've been only ever made me...<em>

_So sorry for the person I became.  
>So sorry that it took so long for me to change.<br>I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again  
>'cause who I am hates who I've been.<br>Who I am hates who I've been._

**I apologize to anyone who thinks I jipped the New Directions out of a written song. It's just, it got to be a very long chapter and I had to make some sacrifices. I mean, come on, they won, isn't that good enough?**

**Anywho, the song the Warblers sang was called **_**City Of Blinding Lights**_** originally done by U2 but covered phenomenally but the Tufts Beelzebubs. This is the second time I have used a song by them and I still highly recommend them if you have not heard them yet. At least listen to their version of this song. It gives me shivers.**

**The second song is called **_**Who I Am Hates Who I've Been **_**(acoustic version) by Relient K. I love this song and James's situation fit well with it I think. He's trying, guys. Have at least a little sympathy for him.**


End file.
